The Quadwizard Tournament
by FieryBallofCrap
Summary: A fourth school has been invited to join the tournament. Little do they know, it isn't a school at all. It's five demigods sent on a quest to protect Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. Set at The Goblet of Fire. Pre Trials of Apollo, Post Blood of Olympus. This isn't your typical story.
1. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**This whole thing is an Author's note. So if you don't like, skip. Story starts at the next chapter.**

 **Okay. First of all, disclaimer.**

 ** _I do not own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. They all belong to J.K Rowling and Rick Riordan, respectively._**

 **Second of all, this is my first fic. I love writing, I really do. But I usually just create exerpts, like one shots.**

 **I hope you enjoy this, and if you have any complaints or anything, just say.**

 **Third of all, HOLY CRAP GUYS.**

 **I published this three days ago. Seriously. There has been a SIX favorites and ELEVEN follows.**

 **Thank you.**

 **I'll try to update daily, before school starts at August and I get super busy.**

 **Please don't forget to FAVORITE, FOLLOW, and REVIEW. But only if you like it.**

 **-FieryBallofCrap**


	2. 1: An Introduction of Sorts

Percy Jackson swang his feet upon the edge of a cliff. He relished the feeling of being childish. The strong October breeze blew against him, washing away his fatigue by energizing him with the cold.

He recalled memories of the second giant war. He was tired of it all—doing dirty work for the gods. Since he was claimed six years ago, his life had been blur of endless quests and near death experiences. It was a miracle that he was still alive.

This will be the last quest, he promised himself. Then Annabeth and I will go to college in New Rome.

The thought put him at ease. Rome was safe from monsters. There, he could have a relatively normal life, and marry Annabeth.

They could even raise a family—a family of legacies that would go on for generations.

The thought triggered a goofy smile to cover his face.

Unknown to Percy, Annabeth Chase was behind him, intently observing. She looked at his face, appreciating the rarely seen peaceful smile on his lips.

After all, they were constantly on the verge of death—peace was a luxury.

The couple had decided to meet up here to watch the sunrise before they embarked into yet another quest.

They were to join the Triwizard Tournament—well, the Quadwizard Tournament—an inter-school competition between three major European Wizarding schools.

This year, the rules have been bended a bit. Instead of merely three schools, there would be fourth school competing; a little-known school of magic, Amerneo School of Modern Education for the Elite. The school is a strict invite-only school, open only to the most gifted witches and wizards training to be aurors.

At least, that was what they told everyone, and will tell everyone.

Truth? It's all a lie—they were demigods, children of the gods.

There were a total of five demigods embarking on the quest. They were sent to ensure the safety of Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. One of which was destined to defeat the Dark Lord, the most feared wizard in their world, Voldemort.

Harry Potter was more likely to have that destiny, but Neville is still a definite possibility. Sent by the goddess Hecate, there are only four other people outside the circle of five demigods with the knowledge.

Albus Dumbledore, a wise elderly wizard who was admittedly a bit mad.

Alastor Moody, a long retired auror, who was paranoid to the bone.

Severus Snape, a greasy haired Hogwarts Professor who happens to be a very distant legacy of Hades.

And of course, Chiron. Chiron had trained Percy and Annabeth. He was the wise immortal centaur whom Annabeth saw as a father.

"You almost missed the sunrise," Percy said, finally noticing his girlfriend.

The faint sun kissed her hair, making the honey-blonde curls shine like a goddess's would.

"I wanted to get you a surprise," Annabeth said. She held up a six-pack coke. "Just got it from Travis and Connor."

Percy grinned. He loved coke, but caffeine was hard to get by outside mealtimes. "Thanks, Wise Girl," he said as she tossed him a can.

Percy opened the can, relishing the satisfying hiss as he pulled the tab. The soda fizzed and spilled all over the surprised Percy, making Annabeth laugh.

Percy completely forgot that soda spilled when shaken.

"You did that on purpose didn't you?" Percy said, and Annabeth merely smiled.

She then got her own, as Percy used his Poseidon powers to remove the sticky liquid from his arms and thighs. She snuggled into Percy's open arms. Her head nestled comfortably under his chin, and his arms engulfed her. They spent the next ten minutes admiring the beautiful view of the strawberry fields across the hill.

Together, they watched as the sun began to rise. It was a magnificent sight.

Yellows and oranges interlaced together to replace the blue night sky, creating the beautiful tapestry of nature. The light slightly hurt their eyes, but they couldn't look away from its beauty.

It was the short moments like these that made Percy absolutely certain that all the suffering, pain, and war was worth it.

"Percy?" Annabeth perked up from her previous position. "It's time to go."

Percy was felt so comfortable, so safe. The idea of getting up irked him. With Annabeth leaning against his torso and can of coke on his left hand, he didn't want to leave. Not now, not ever.

Because at the moment, he felt happy and content, and he longed for the luxury of safety.

•oOo•

Nico's arms tightly gripped the pegasus's neck.

He was nervous. And very scared. He wouldn't admit it, but he even trembled a bit.

At any given moment, Zeus could strike down the pegasus he was currently on, sending him spiraling into Poseidon's domain, the sea. Then, he would drown and die.

It's not easy being a son of Hades. The gods' sibling rivalry is dangerously petty.

They have been travelling for five days. They only took breaks for the pegasi to rest.

Each time, it would get harder and harder to convince him to get back on the winged horse.

The fear made it impossible for Nico to admire the deep blue of the ocean, the wind in his face, or even the sun in the horizon.

Not long after, a splotch of land materialized right before his eyes, greener than most places he'd been to—and he could shadow travel everywhere.

It looked exactly as the pictures, but there was the obvious absence of a large Medieval castle. He felt the strength of the mist around him. It was really thick, making him feel dizzy and disoriented. He decided that the castle was probably hidden, like Camp Half Blood.

Somehow, the air was welcoming yet hostile, like it was indecisive.

A castle slowly came into view. Beside him, he heard a certain Daughter of Athena gasp. The cold had turned her cheeks red. Flying so high had caused the temperature to drop several degrees. That, added to the chilly October air made the sky as colder than a freezer.

Annabeth has been to Greece.

She has gone to Rome.

Heck, she has even designed fricking Olympus.

But this, now this is Architecture. The castle was a masterpiece.

Everything about it screamed pure competence and mastery of art and design.

The aspiring architect stared at the medieval castle, more impressed than she could put into words. She looked carefully at the old fashioned towers and the intricate yet worn roof tiling.

There was no doubt about it—the castle has clearly stood the test of time. She felt jealous of the architect. This was her dream; to create something permanent.

She wanted to build something that could last generations to come.

They flew around the castle, giving every demigod (except Nico, who hung on for dear life instead) a chance to truly appreciate the view.

After a really long tour, the pegasi all landed, following the instruction of a son of Posiedon. "Don't call me that," Percy said, for the hundredth time in the past five days.

Sure, boss. Blackjack whined, making Percy sigh.

Percy detested titles. And his real name, Perseus. He hated that too.

Each demigod had a small lightweight backpack slung across their back. It held all their things, and is made possible by an expertly cast expansion charm.

Out on the Quidditch field, they met up with Professor Snape. Leo Valdez noted the serious expression of the seemingly grumpy old professor. He was cold, unwelcoming and dressed in all black. He was straight to the point and serious.

Leo was liking the man less and less. The man was frigid and he never seemed to smile.

In a way, he was similar to Nico.

Leo glanced at Nico. Nico's hair had just been trimmed short. It made him look younger, much more like a rebellious teenager and less of a murderous thirty-year-old vampire. But don't let that fool you, he had literally walked through the Pits of Hell, and could send you straight to Fields of Punishment.

After a brief conversation and a round of introductions, Snape wordlessly led them into a hidden hall, a place people rarely visited. There, the demigods settled and unpacked their backpacks. They were scheduled to make their grand entrance in an hour—around six.

Till then, Annabeth put on her greek contacts to do a bit of light reading.

Greek contacts was an idea of Daedalus that Leo had managed to create. They were worn like normal contact lenses, and they really helped dyslexic demigods by translating english to Ancient Greek, or filtering Latin words to be completely readable.

Annabeth reread a list of reminders with the contacts on.

The list went on. It was all reminders of things to be remembered. If they wanted to pass as wizards, they had to act like wizards.

Beside Annabeth, an owl hooted. The small brown owl was looked very young, still a child. He had a newspaper with a large headline tied to his small feet.

AMERNEO: A SHROUDED MYSTERY

Annabeth picked the paper and began to read it, petting the owl.

She gave him a treat, and he hooted contentedly, thanking her.

As a daughter of Athena, owls were her thing.

But the paper however, was not in her favor.


	3. 2: The Grand Entrance

AMERNEO: A SHROUDED MYSTERY by Rita Skeeter

OCTOBER MARKS THE START OF THE QUADWIZARD TOURNAMENT, A LONG-AWAITED EVENT. INSTEAD OF THE USUAL THREE SCHOOLS COMPETING, THERE WILL BE FOUR SCHOOLS—HOGWARTS, DURMSTRUNG, BEAUXBATONS, AND THE NEW ADDITION: AMERNEO. THE DECISION TO INVITE FELLOW WIZARDING SCHOOL AMERNEO CAUSED QUITE AN UPROAR IN THE PAST, GIVEN THAT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC HAD NOT CONSULTED ANYONE BEFORE INVITING THE FOURTH SCHOOL—A NON-EUROPEAN SCHOOL NO LESS, TO JOIN.

AMERNEO SCHOOL OF MODERN EDUCATION FOR THE ELITE, IS A LITTLE KNOWN SCHOOL FROM AMERICA, ACCORDING TO THE MINISTER OF MAGIC, CORNELIUS FUDGE. AMERNEO IS A STRICT INVITE-ONLY SCHOOL, WHEREIN LESS THAN TWO HUNDRED STUDENTS HAVE BEEN INVITED SO FAR. ACCORDING TO SOURCES, THEY DO NOT CONDUCT NORMAL CLASSES, STUDENTS SPECIALIZE IN AUROR TRAINING AND DEFEATING THE DARK ARTS. THE TRAINING INSIDE HAS BEEN SAID TO BE VERY PHYSICAL, AND THE STUDENTS DO NOT FULLY PRACTICE MAGIC.

ASIDE FROM THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, NOBODY SEEMS TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE SCHOOL. AMERNEO IS A MYSTERY. WITH NO ONE AWARE OF ITS WHEREABOUTS AND EXISTENCE, THE SAFETY OF ALL OTHER STUDENTS ARE LIKELY TO BE COMPROMISED. CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT THIS THE MINISTRY'S IDEA, ONE CANNOT BE SURE IF IT IS AN ACT OF PURE INCOMPETENCE OR A LACK OF BETTER JUDGEMENT.

THE AMERNEO STUDENTS—

Annabeth Chase angrily ripped the article about her and her friends. She had looked at the author beforehand.

Rita Skeeter, it said.

She couldn't even finish the full article, but skimming it told her that the rest was filled with insult and not-so-discreet brainwashing.

Honestly, it was all just downright offensive and insensitive. Skeeter was just shameless. She couldn't have done a better job accusing them of being the enemy. She even spoke against the government, which would usually terminate a journalistic career.

From Dumbledore's lectures, she had learned that the Daily Prophet and the Ministry of Magic were closely linked to each other. It was a wonder why that article was even given the green light to be published.

It was barely an article, it was simply a piece of _opinionated propaganda_.

Annabeth shook her head, emptying it of all murderous thought. She couldn't go out there in a foul mood. An angry daughter of Athena was snappy, mean, and scary. If people saw her like that, then it would only prove the article to be true, and her pride _would not, could not, allow that._

Sometimes _hubris_ was actually helpful.

She arched her back, straightening her posture. She grabbed her wand, hid her her drakon bone sword into her shoe, and left.

Even though the demigods were informed that monster attacks were unlikely, it always paid to be prepared.

On her way, she marveled at the beautifully and artfully crafted walls of the stone castle. She carefully examined the rotating staircases and knobless doors.

Hogwarts truly was an architectural masterpiece.

It had everything—from secret rooms to mysterious chambers to grand staircases that put Olympus to shame.

Many secrets lie behind all these magical walls, and Annabeth could feel it.

It all seemed outside the usual capabilities of the Mist. If Annabeth had to guess, she would say that the wizards had somehow managed to evolve the Mist into this; it was more advanced than any form of the Mist she had ever dealt with or seen. Even most

children of Hecate struggled with anything even slightly more advanced than mist manipulation.

Upon reaching the meet up point, she saw the familiar figure of a man in a wheelchair—Chiron.

With a wispy brown beard and a towel over his supposed legs tucked into a wheelchair, Chiron passed as human. He was currently conversing with Piper Mclean, daughter of Aphrodite.

Piper looked excited. She had a big fat grin on her face as she spoke. Her exitement was so contagious that she made Chiron smile at her in return.

But something was off, and Annabeth couldn't pinpoint exactly _what_ it was, and that fact bothered her.

Annabeth approached them. "What are you doing here?" she smiled, the terrible article from Skeeter temporarily forgotten.

Chiron was like her father.

Chiron smiled at her. "Every school needs a headmaster," he replied.

Loud yet playful arguing and marked the arrival of both Percy and Nico.

" _What do you mean I'm not your type_?" Percy asked incredulously.

"Oh _get over_ it!"

They were a few minutes late, but Annabeth didn't mind. Chiron being here had totally uplifted her mood.

The 'Grand Entrance' was for show. Dumbledore insisted to let the Hogwarts students watch them land, out of tradition. Apparently, it was to also to minimize scrutiny.

Though how landing in _five_ winged horses in _muggle clothes without a headmaster_ while being the only _non-European school_ could eliminate scrutiny, Annabeth wasn't so sure.

But who was she to argue with Dumbledore, who had lived in the wizarding world since birth?

Annabeth suspected that the old man was just dramatic, but she decided against voicing it out.

You can say anything about Dumbledore, but it was a cold hard fact that he had _style_.

"Come on," Annabeth said to her pegasus, as she stared up at the peaceful night sky with and felt the slight breeze.

Annabeth shivered slightly. "Mount your pegasi!"

.oOo.

A large sea of Hogwarts students stood at the entrance steps of their school, arranged in neat lines. There was a nervous chatter of anticipation as they awaited the arrival of the other three schools.

Hermione Granger stood beside her two best friends, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley.

They had just read the dreadful article of Rita Skeeter. The trio were not strangers to how the annoying journalist loved to bend the truth and cause controversy, but Hermione shamefully kind of agreed with it.

Hermione nervously played with her SPEW badge. She didn't know what to expect. She had read up on other wizarding schools, but she had not come across one named Amerneo. The only reference she had is a unreliable article by Skeeter herself.

She didn't know anything about the students, and she _highly disliked_ not knowing much about the potentially dangerous.

She couldn't help but overthink. For all she knew, they could be Death Eaters, or serial killers. Her skepticism, though not as intense, extended to Drumstrang and Beuxbatons too.

A small voice in her mind nagged that maybe, just maybe, they were actually nice and didn't have bad intentions.

The sky was dimming, and a silvery crescent moon came into visibility. It was 6:02. The schools should be arriving at any given moment.

Suddenly, there was a noise—the whine of a horse. To their right, a nobility of pegasi began their descent.

Harry watched in awe as the beautiful winged horses, flying in a perfect V formation gracefully flew across the sky.

On the tip of the V, a seventeen year old boy on a black pegasus was leading the pegasi in mild concentration.

Harry had to admit, the boy looked intimidating. A serious expression of concentration adorned his face as he rode on his black pegasus.

The boy wore muggle clothes—a fact that did not go unnoticed by Hogwarts students. In fact, _all of them_ wore muggle clothes.

The boy had windswept black hair, intense green eyes, and air of self-confidence and leadership that had Lavander Brown and a few others swooning.

His eyes scanned the surroundings as he and his schoolmates dismounted their respective horses.

A boy dressed in all black seemed particularly eager to get off his horse. His leg got caught up in the saddle, and he flipped as he fell, landing on his face.

The Hogwarts students did not dare to laugh, the boy's handsome demeanor was balanced with a look of evil rebelliousness and and aura of Death Eater tendencies.

A man on a wheelchair appeared out of nowhere, and Professor Dumbledore did not hesitate to greet him like an old friend, which he probably was. Most Hogwarts students were fixated on the five students of Amerneo, intrigued.

A polite round of applause was initiated by a Professor to ease the tension. Unfortunately, it quickly died down and did not serve its purpose as Dean Thomas pointed to the sky.

"Look!" He exclaimed. Several students craned their necks to look at the large figure fast approaching.

A large carriage pulled by abnormally large palomino horses flew across the sky. The witches and wizards watched in awe as it slowly descended.

The lower it was, the more Harry could see the intricate detailing on the sides of the carriage. It was beautiful, carefully carved and twisted to perfection. There was no doubt that the one who made it was the most skilled of craftsmen.

A few students backed away to avoid being trampled by the enormous magic horses as the carriage reached the ground. Upon landing, a slight earthquake occurred due to the amount of sheer force that was enough to break a few holes into the ground.

The carriage door opened, and a carpet flew out dramatically, yet landed perfectly without a single wrinkle. A rather large woman exited the carriage, followed by numerous teenage girls and boys. They were all seemed very graceful. Each movement was elegant, and done with flawless posture and grace.

As if choreographed, they walked in perfect lines and synchronized motion.

"Beuxbatons," Hermione remarked. "From France."

The man in a wheelchair and Professor Dumbledore approached the large lady.

"Madame Maxime," Professor Dumbledore said. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"S'ank you," Madame Maxime gazed warily at the man on the wheelchair. "An' who is dis?"

"Chiron Brunner," The man in the wheelchair introduced, giving out his hand to shake. Madame Maxime stared at it awkwardly, and diverted her eyes, not taking the hand.

"I'm the Headmaster of Amerneo." Chiron stated.

"'Ead-mistress ov Beauxbatons." Maxime declared proudly.

Her thick accent was quite difficult to understand, but Dumbledore conversed with her without misunderstanding.

Moments later, the shivering Beauxbatons entered the castle.

Their uniforms were made of silk, not very helpful against the cold October wind.

Some of the demigods shivered slightly. Leo was ready to set himself on fire, longing to enter the castle too. But Annabeth wanted to watch Durmstrang arrive, saying that she wanted to seize any possible threats assoon as now, so they all decided to suck it up and stay in the cold

Suddenly, Percy felt a disturbance in the lake beside him, a stir in the water. He turned to look at the body of water.

There, the shadow of a large mast appeared amongst the heavy fog.

A ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. With great sloshing noise, the ship emerged entirely.

They watched as the ship landed ashore, gallons of water dripping from it. Truly, it was a magnificent ship—even Percy was impressed.

The somewhat skeletal design looked really cool, especially with the pirate themed mast.

That ship was on Percy's list of Top Ten Coolests Ships.

A rather loud thud was heard from the ship, and a plank was dropped onto land.

Percy half expected pirates, since they had a ship that like one. He instinctively gripped Riptide in his pocket tightly, ready to whip it out should the need arise.

Instead, several students disembarked from the ship. They were dressed in fur, having perfect defense against the cold wind.

A scary man dressed with silver fur called unto Dumbledore, and they chatted politely.

His name was something like Karkaroff. Percy wasn't entirely sure what he was called, but he was sure that it was a weird name, definitely Russian.

Several students in fur coats passed by the Hogwarts students, making Hogwarts students gasp. They began to talk animatedly in hushed tones. Leo heard the name Viktor Krum being repeated many times, both loudly or in hushed whispers.

The students of Amerneo entered the castle and felt the warmth within spread across their body.

In the Great Hall, four tables were lined parallel to each other—one table for each house.

While the Durmstrang and Beuxbatons chose to sit in the Slytherin and Ravenclaw table, the Amerneo students decided to sit on the Gryffindor table, since they've been given specific information that Harry and Neville were there.

Nico sat down, and felt the prescence of a ghost. He froze.

Oh no.

Any ghost talking to him would definitely blow his cover—he couldn't risk that.

A ghost, Nearly Headless Nick came over, smiling widely. The ghost sensed Nico too, judging from his expression. The ghost's smile dropped, replaced with a fearful frown as he spotted the son of Hades.

The ghost suddenly felt like he had died the second time. A son of Hades aware of his parentage...he hadn't seen one for more than a century.

But before he could speak, Nico silenced him. Being the Ghost King, Nico had absolute control over these spirits.

In the same way Percy spoke to fish, Nico explained the situation, and told the ghost to spread a series of commands to his fellow ghosts.

 _Do not talk to the son of Hades, do not do anything that may imply that I am a son of Hades, do not even acknowledge me unless spoken to or summoned, Or the Ghost King will use his power to banish you directly to the Fields of Punishment for unwarranted interference in personal matters._

During this exchange, all the students filled into their respective seats, and Nearly Headless Nick was lucky enough to have not given Nico away.

Hermione, a witch brimming with curiosity, sat beside the seventeen year old boy with black hair and intense green eyes. He seemed to be the leader among the five, the tip of the pegasus.

He was the oldest, and the way he controlled the pegasi—with commanding with finality that could not be defied. The only way he could command them all so smooty that well was if he had experience beforehand, or he had all their absolute respect.

Obviously, he was highly respected by all others.

She began asking questions with great speed and intensity, hoping for a glimpse of how his school is like.

"Where's your school?" she said.

Percy raised an eyebrow. It was weird that she didn't know.

"In America," Percy said, he knew that it was better to be vague than to be specific, he could accidentally betray the truth.

"Oh," Hermione said, irritated at Percy's vagueness. "Why are you all in muggle clothing?" Hermione asked.

Percy looked at her confused for a moment, he had temporarily forgotten that muggles were like mortals for them.

"Oh! Amerneo has combat-focused classes, sorta like gym class—you do know gym class right?"

Hermione nodded. "How many classes?"

"In every class." Percy said. "As future...aurors, it's important to be prepared to counter any possible attack—and its hard with long robes. Much easier in sweatpants and jeans."

Hermione seemed satisfied with the answer, and even pondered a bit on the unpracticality of robes. Perhaps Hogwarts _could_ learn a bit from the Americans.

Hermione then proceeded to ask more questions, each more personal than the last.

Percy didn't slip up. He was careful not to say anything wrong, and he mainly succeeded.

"What's your blood status?" She finally asked.

Hermione despised the question. She almost never saw a purpose in the question, but blood status was vital to Death Eaters. She could get small clues from this question.

Percy, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. He vaguely remembered it in one of Dumbledore's crash course lessons, but wasn't sure.

"Huh?" Percy said.

When in doubt, play dumb.

Hermione arched an eyebrow. She saw the look of panic in his eyes. It lasted only a millisecond, but she saw it regardless.

She marked that as suspicious, and tucked it into a special folder in her brain.

Perhaps they call it differently in America. Her mind reasoned.

"You know," she said. "Pureblood, Halfblood or Muggle Born?"

"Oh!" A look of recognition passed Percy's face. "Definitely a Half blood." He gave out a small laugh, like it was some type of joke.

After that, Hermione asked only a few more before she dropped the interview. She didn't get any dirt on the students. She was still skeptical of them, but much less than before.

Percy was nice, and he seemed pretty laid-back and not at all evil.

But of course, she could always be wrong.

Hermione didn't see the troubled stare Percy gave Annabeth.

And she didn't hear Percy's discreet, yet urgent whisper in Ancient Greek.

" _Annabeth, I think she's unto us."_


	4. 3: The Goblet of Fire

Annabeth was staring at the floating candles, the colorful banners, and the weathered ceiling—everything. All things in the Great Hall was simply magical. She promised herself that she would allow herself to walk around the castle after dinner, and use it as further inspiration to redesign Olympus.

The castle's top notch architecture was better than any castle she had ever stepped foot into.

She was having a relatively good day—no near death experiences and everything was going by pretty smoothly.

That was, until—

"Annabeth, I think she's unto us." Her boyfriend whispered to her in Ancient Greek. Her eyes widened by a small fraction.

 _Already_?

They were three minutes in.

 _Three minutes._

Annabeth had expected many things—questions, judgement, and hate were among them. Suspicion topped that list. Especially after Skeeter's article, it was nearly _impossible_ not to expect such.

However, she didn't anticipate it to be this soon— _three minutes_ upon arrival.

Dear gods, that must've been a record.

They were very careful.

They've watched their movements and rehearsed their landing.

They've even been given crash course lessons of wizarding culture and norms, and _listened_ to them.

There was no reason any of them would or should arise suspicion this soon.

"Who?" Annabeth hissed.

"That girl with the brown hair beside me," Percy replied. "She's been asking a lot of questions..."

Annabeth discreetly leaned forward and looked at the girl beside Percy.

The girl's face looked at ease, without a gint of fear or suspicion against the Americans.

Unintentionally, Annabeth shot a glare her way by squiting her eyes.

Annabeth knew that she would have to befriend the girl and diffuse the situation before it became a problem.

They couldn't have a girl blabbering against them.

Harry Potter, who sat opposite to the blonde girl, saw her glare at his best friend. He told Ron quietly, slightly worried.

The girl with blonde hair looked very intimidating and powerful.

"I reckon she's just jealous she was talking with green eyes over there," Ron said dismissively.

Harry considered this. He looked at the handsome green eyed boy as he and Hermione laughed from across the table and nodded in agreement.

"Makes sense," he said. "After all, Hermione _could be_ quite charming."

Ron looked at Harry weirdly.

 _Hermione?_

 _Charming?_

 _Not in this chance._

"Sure, for the blind."

They then concluded that the blonde girl was simply jealous, and thought nothing more about it.

But Harry could't shake the intimidating glare from the blonde, it scared him. It gave the feeling that made him want to avoid pissing her off as much as possible.

On the other side of the Great Hall, Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, stood up from his seat.

He looked over the chattering students and newcomers, glad to see them already socializing with each other.

The headmaster had a strong unspoken form of authority over every student. They all respected him without question.

An act as simple as clearing his throat could silence the entire student body.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts, and guests," His loud voice boomed, startling a few students up in front. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both enjoyable and comfortable."

"Is it ever?" Percy muttered, making Annabeth grin and swat his shoulder scoldingly.

"The tournament will officially begin at the end of the feast," Dumbledore continued, his gaze washing over every student, every guest, who were all filled with excitement. "I now invite you to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"

Dumbledore quickly sat down, and engaged in conversation with the Durmstrang Headmaster.

The students followed his example, and soon, chatter and laughter filled the Great Hall once more, louder and fuller than before.

Piper gasped in surprise as plates of food suddenly appeared on the table.

To say it was a lot would be an understatement. It was enough food to feed two legions of hungry Romans and still have some to spare.

Half the dishes were very unfamiliar to Percy, whose diet mainly consisted of cheeseburgers and blue pancakes. There was a lot of foreign food—European food.

There was a lot of fancy food that Percy did not want to eat.

Luckily, he spotted a pile of sliders on a gold platter. That alone sated Percy, and he piled his plate with sliders and a side of fries.

A very pretty girl who seemed to catch the attention of almost all the males (and some females) in the Great Hall walked over to their table, asking for some bouillabaisse.

When she spoke, Ron forgot how to talk and his mind went blank. The only thing he knew was that he wanted to impress her.

She was pretty, and gave off a feeling that made him willing to do anything for her.

The beuxbaton was adorned in precious silk. Her silvery blonde hair and slim figure embodied beauty and grace.

Harry pushed the plate of food toward her, almost carelessly, and she took it away.

Leo, on the other hand, could not stop staring at her. Her mannerisms reminded him of Calypso.

 _Gods, he missed her._

He wanted to finish this quest right now, just so he could go back to Calypso, even though it had only been a few days of travel.

Piper, on the other hand, was convinced that the beauxbaton was a daughter of Aphrodite—an exceptionally _charming_ one. Even the fact that she was French solidified her theory.

It was no secret that Aphrodite had a soft spot for the French.

Hermione, deciding to socialize with the Americans, turned to the girl sitting to the right of Harry. She had brown skin, and a peculiar hairstyle. Feathers were braided into her hair. It was weird, but it suited her well. It made her seem like tribal princess or _Tiger Lily from Peter Pan._

"Hello," she said politely. "I'm Hermione Granger."

The girl smiled at her kindly. "I'm Piper Mclean."

Piper then began to introduce her friends, Leo, Percy, Annabeth and Nico. They all waved politely, except for Nico, who merely grunted with his mouth full of mashed potatoes.

Social interaction was not his _forte_.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were especially suspicious of Nico.

It wasn't just his attire and seemingly evil attitude. There was something _sinister_ about the boy, he seemed to radiate... _death_.

If Death Eater had a physical stereotype, it looked _exactly_ like Nico Di Angelo.

Hermione pointed to two of her friends, who sat right in front of her.

"That's Harry and Ron."

Percy, still chewing, looked up in interest.

They usually weren't this lucky to have made progress so soon.

Harry? As in Harry Potter?

Percy's head slowly turned to face the boy, trying to find any signs of his famed Lighting Scar. "Are you _the_ Harry Potter?"

Percy spotted it nestled behind a layer of bangs.

Harry squirmed uneasiely in his seat. The way Percy has said it— _the_ Harry Potter, made it him sound too legendary.

"Yes." Harry braced for the usual star struck reaction, maybe even a ' _can I see your scar?_ '. But instead, Percy let out a simple nod.

"That's cool," Percy said waith a small smile, and went back to merrily devouring his plate of sliders.

Harry was glad not to receive that ' _Oh my god, it's Harry Potter!_ ' treatment from them. Quite frankly, he _hated_ the attention, it had always made him feel very _uncomfortable_.

The rest of the dinner went smoothly, with the Americans treated Harry like any other person.

By the end of the feast, Harry had decided that he liked the fact that these Americans couldn't give a rat's ass about who he was or his past.

Dumbledore stood up for the second time this evening, making the silent room fill up with excited tension.

Harry himself felt a thrill of exitement. He sneaked a glance at the Americans.

Percy and Nico didn't really seem to care, whereas Piper, Leo and Annabeth were on the edge of their seats.

Leo was especially excited. His fingers eagerly shuffled a rubik's cube below the table. The colorful object got a lot of odd looks, but some looks of recognition and approval from muggle-borns who were familiar with it.

Dumbledore walked, _frustratingly_ slowly to the front of the Ravenclaw table. "The moment has come," He announced, with his wand to the sea of students brimming with interest.

He took his time pronouncing each word, building up the students' interest.

"The Quadwizard Tournament shall start soon. But beforehand, I would like to give a few announcements and words of instruction. This is Mr. Bartemius Crouch"—he guestured to a grumpy looking man with a perfectly trimmed mustache and expensive robes—"and Mr. Ludo Bagman."

The students applauded for Bagman, who waved like a child on a sugar rush.

"Without whom, the Quadwizard tournament would surely be impossible." He added. "They will be joining the panel of judges—Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, and I."

With all Headmasters and Headmistresses as Tournament judges, it seemed suspicious that Chiron isn't judging.

This fact seemed to fly over the heads of everyone else except for Annabeth.

The professor turned to his right, addressing the caretaker. "Bring out the casket, Mr. Filch."

Flich, who had managed to blend in the shadows, stepped into the light and approached Dumbledore, carrying an old chest encrusted with jewels looking older than Hogwarts itself.

"The three tasks have already been approved by the Ministry of Magic. During the remainder of the School Year, there will be tasks to test the champions from each school."

"These champions shall be judged based on their overall performance. The champion with the highest mark by the end of the third task shall bring home the Quadwizard Cup as the Grand Champion." He beamed widely at the students, who smiled at the dream of being Champion.

"It's time I show the selector of Champions," he said, smile widening.

Dumbledore took his wand out, and tapped three times on the old chest, and the top slowly creaked open. The old professor reached down and grabbed a wooden goblet. A collective gasp of awe spread across the Hall as they saw the _goblet on fire._

Though small, it was doubtlessly a magnificent sight.

Blue flames danced merrily inside the ageless cup, mirroring the students' excitement and innocence regarding the matter.

With a few squeaks, the chest closed. Carefully, he placed the small flaming goblet atop it, where it would be visible to everyone in the Hall.

"I present to you, the Goblet of Fire!" He exclaimed.

Students craned their necks and raised their heads, taking in the sight of a small goblet on fire like children starved of vision.

"Students who wish to join must place their name and school on a sheet of parchment and drop it inside. You have the next twenty-four hours to place your name in the Goblet, which would be situated at the Entrance Hall. Tomorrow night, the goblet shall show the four champions it has chosen." He added.

"As my final instruction, I would like to stress that once you have been chosen, you have to see the tournament to the end—no backing out. Placing a name is a magical contract, binding and permanent. Failure to comply will result to consequences beyond my control. And as my final warning, I would advise the younger students under 17 not to place their names. I will draw an age line to prevent such." He continued.

A few hundred students groaned, angered that they couldn't join.

"Now, I would like to wish everyone a good night for I believe it is time for bed." He finished, beaming at the students.

An excited chatter filled the hall once more as students dispersed. Nobody was tired. They were all too excited, because it was official—

The Tournament has begun.


	5. 4: A Series of Realizations

Percy skipped up the steps to his room as the clock neared 8:26. It was almost time to Iris Message his mom. He missed his mom and Estelle, his little half-sister.

With her adorable chubby fingers and mischievous smile, Estelle had Percy doing anything to please her.

Percy would kill anyone who would even _think_ of harming his little sister.

Unable to wait, he grabbed a drachma from his pocket. He placed it beside the rainbow formed by the prism he borrowed from Annabeth.

" _O, Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Sally Jackson in Upper East Side, Manhattan."_

The mist shimmered. He was greeted with an unusual sight. His mom was bouncing a sleeping baby, her back turned against Percy.

Percy caned his neck to see the child Sally was carrying, thinking that it was Estelle.

The baby _boy in blue pajamas had black hair, and looked vaguely familiar._

That couldn't be right.

He had a _sister_ , not a brother. He had bathed her enough times to say that with absolute certainty.

He watched curiously as his mom put down the baby on a familiar crib. He recognized that crib.

He hadn't seen that crib for years, the last time being its old battered form being pulled away in a pick up truck heading for a junk shop.

"Shit," he said loudly as realization dawned on him. Sally yelped, and turned around and to see Percy through the Iris Message.

She protectively covered the baby with her body.

Sally's eyes had dark circles around them, but had a noticable absence of wrinkles. Sally looked younger, but still held the tiredness in her eyes.

"Who are you?" She demanded, louder than she should have.

Behind her, the baby woke up and started to cry.

Sally turned around and cradled a crying baby. "Hush, Percy," she comforted, not taking her eyes off the Iris Message.

He caught a glimpse of the baby's eyes—sea green, identical to his own.

It all confirmed what he had initially thought—the baby wasn't Estelle or anyone else, it was _him_.

Percy slashed the message, his mind going a hundred miles an hour. It didn't take a genius to know that something was horribly wrong.

If his guess was correct, then Hecate had a _lot_ of explaining to do.

"Annabeth!" Percy called as he stormed out of his room in panic and unmasked anger.

Water he passed through seemed to follow his mood, shaking almost as if in _fear_.

A slightly pissed off daughter of Athena shouted from her room. "Yes, Seaweed Brain?"

"Annabeth," Percy said. "Can I see the newspaper you were reading a while ago?"

Annabeth frowned at his peculiar request but obliged, handing the shredded article by Rita Skeeter.

"Why do you need it?" Ananbeth asked.

The boy does not answer her, as he is too engrossed with his current task if finding the date. His ever-growing frustration at the gods, and the ever-annoying fates only increases exponentially, making it harder to decipher the words on the pages.

"Percy, what's going on?" Annabeth asked him once again as the air began to radically get more and more humid.

She was yet again ignored, an action that was very unlike Percy.

"Aha!" He exclaimed after a while. He held up a piece with a large black title and looked at the date under it.

As he looked at the paper, the triumphant expression he wore turned grim, as if his worst fears were confirmed.

 _Oct. 29, 1994_

 _By Rita Skeeter_

The date on the paper mocked him, almost calling him a fool.

Percy wanted to kick a bucket into Zeus's face.

Or tase any of the three Fates.

Or even to just flip them off.

Gods know that he really wanted to flip them all off.

He was so furious that it affected the mosisture in the air. He was so furious that he almost ruined the magical Hogwarts plumbing.

That meant a lot, since wizard plumbing was more advanced, more complicated, and overall better than muggle plumbing in every way.

"Annabeth, call the others. I have to find Chiron." Percy said, his eyes flaring.

"Percy what's going on?" Annabeth asked.

Percy sighed and ran a hand through his untamable hair while he walked towards the exit of Annabeth's room.

"Annabeth, we're in the past."

He handed Annabeth the small piece of the newspaper that held the date.

Annabeth, following Percy's orders, went out to call the other demigods. She knew better than to argue with a pissed off Percy.

With his combined knowledge of both Greek and Roman fighting skills, years of training, and powers as the son of Poseidon, he was probably the most dangerous demigod of the century.

Annabeth trudged through the hallway, her brain running a million miles an hour. Conjuring up possibilities, creating hypothesis as to why they were stuck in the past.

It was already established that they were in the past. But that opened up a large avenue of unanswered questions.

In his own room, Nico di Angelo was attempting to contact Will Solace, his boyfriend.

The mist flickered like a broken television for what seemed like the hundreth time that night. A voice came from the mist.

" _The person you wish to contact does not exist, please try again later."_

Nico mocked the voice and threw a drachma to the ground, frustrated.

"SHOW ME WILL!" Nico screamed at the mist.

It wasn't right.

Will existed.

Will wasn't just some illusion or trick of the Mist.

Will was real.

He had already tried IM three times, with no avail. Nico glared at the wall, he wanted to punch it. But he didn't, because the walls were stone and that would hurt his sword arm.

And he didn't want to explain how he got his arm broken in the _solace_ of his own room.

The thought brought him back to Will.

 _Maybe it's_ _a sick prank, he thought. Though I really doubt it._

Something about the message felt real, like it was genuine in saying that Will did not exist.

From personal experience, he knew that Iris was not one to pull pranks. The peace loving, violence avoiding goddess was not likely to do pranks.

It was now 8:48 on his watch, and he began to desperately make up excuses for the IM not to work. They were supposed to talk at 8:30—almost twenty minutes ago.

He was sure that Will was in fact alive and he hadn't imagined him at all.

But then he remembered how Jason, Piper and Leo woke up with fabricated memories and Nico suddenly wasn't so sure.

His stomach filled with dread. What if Will had died? He couldn't sense death that far away. Everyone Nico loved died or left. It wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary.

No. He couldn't think like that. Will was alive, and he existed. There was a perfectly logical explanation and a solution behind this.

Maybe he should try to IM Jason. Jason would know. Despite being Pontifex Maximus, he was constantly in CHB.

He grabbed another drachma, ready to IM.

He heard an urgent knock on the door, and it increased his irritation by ten fold. He was not thinking rationally right now.

He was tired and mad. You've never seen a son of Hades so grumpy.

Begrudgingly, he opened the door to reveal a blonde daughter of Athena.

"What?" He snapped.

Annabeth took one look at the son of Hades and knew that something was horribly wrong with his mood.

"Meeting. Percy's room. Now."

Nico really didn't want to. Nico was in a no mood to leave his room.

Unfortunately, life never went the way we want it to, so Nico went to Percy's room.

Annabeth was intimidating in almost every way. Her combat skills and intelligence made her deadly. He knew that if he tried to defy her, it would be the worst mistake of his life.

Begrudgingly, he walked towards Percy's room.

Along the way, he met Leo and Piper. Piper was frowning, and Leo looked uncharacteristically serious.

They arrived at Percy's room to find Annabeth. Percy was nowhere to be seen.

Annabeth sat on the floor, druming her fingers on the stone floor. Leo solved his rubik's cube, fingers flying with speed. Piper played with the braids in her hair, braiding and unbraiding them repeatedly. Nico toyed with his skull ring, thinking.

They were all very nervous. There were strips of newspaper scattered all over the floor, it looked like a crime scene.

A nearby cup of water trembled. The air grew increasingly humid.

The door suddenly swung open. Percy stood there, looking really, really mad.

Like so mad that Leo wanted to cower into the far end of the room.

He prayed to all the gods that he wasn't in the receiving end of Percy's anger.

Behind him, was the elderly wizard. Dumbledore had a grim expression on his face.

"What's going on?" Nico bravely asked.

"We're in the past." Percy snapped, quickly pacing in his room. "It's October 29, 1994."

And the toilets in his room (and neighboring rooms) exploded. Humidity levels increased dangerously, making Piper's hair frizz terribly.

Annabeth put a comforting hand on Percy, easing his mood, and the humidity a bit.

"Actually it's October 30," Dumbledore said, frowning. "But yes, it is definitely 1994."

"What?" Nico screeched, and the shadows seemed to dance. "What do you mean?"

"It seems that you have been sent to the past," Dumbledore added rather grimly. "And had not been informed of such arrangements."

Angry reactions emerged from each demigod.

How had we been sent to the past without our knowledge? Why did Hecate specifically choose them if she could have chosen any demigod from _this_ generation?

A million questions raced through their minds, making their heads spin.

Ananbeth sighed. Maybe if they finished their quest, they could get answers. But for now, they didn't have a choice but to complete the quest.

•oOo•

The very next morning, the demigods met up at the Great Hall for breakfast.

Annabeth looked terrible. A sleepless night caused her to have red eyes, messy hair and slow movement.

She was also in a very bad mood. She still couldn't understand anything going on.

Harry, though he had originally planned to, felt wary to approach the Americans. They all looked very grumpy and irritated this morning, Annabeth especially.

Perhaps they were not morning persons.

The day passed by in a blur. Students came and went, all chattering about their guess of the chosen champion.

Hermione listened to Fred and George as they recounted their plan to place their names into the Goblet of Fire.

"An aging potion should do the trick." George said. "We'll drink the potion, trick the age line, and drop our names. The Goblet of Fire would be none the wiser."

"That won't work," Hermione sang. "Dumbledore drew the line himself. You don't think you could actually fool it, can you?"

Fred waved her off, grinning widely. "Watch and learn, 'Mione." He grabbed two small vials from his pocket and gave one to George. George took it. "Bottoms up," Geroge said.

Together, they downed the aging potion.

The twins began to grow several inches and facial hair. As their transformation took place, they hi fived each other proudly.

Fred cautiously stepped into the age line. He looked around, satisfied with himself. He beckoned his brother to do the same, and Geroge obliged. They each put a piece of parchment in the Goblet. They were victorious for a few moments. But then, wide smiles turned to looks of horror as their plan backfired.

They grew old. Flaming red hair turned snowy white, and a wispy untrimmed beard grew on their chins. Soon, they were screaming and hexing each other.

The Goblet of Fire mockingly spit out their parchment back at them.

Hermione stifled a laugh.

They had to be brought to the school nurse. To the hospital wing, where a large array of students lying down on beds. Most had gray hair and wrinkles—side effects of an aging potion.

Gossip traveled faster than light in Hogwarts. Soon after, Ron heard from Dean that his brothers were in the hospital wing.

Ron grinned, and went to the Hospital Wing to taunt his twin brothers. Opportunities like these were rare. Fred and George were usually the ones doing the taunting.

As he was nearing the hospital wing, he walked into a secluded hallway—the dorms of the Americans.

He took a peek, maybe to get a glimpse of that pretty Piper McLean.

Instead, he was greeted with a terrifying sight. Nico di Angelo, the youngest of the Amerneo students was talking to the Bloody Baron, the Slytherin ghost.

Ron had gotten the impression that Nico would go and practice the dark arts.

Ron hid behind a column, out of Nico's line of vision, and watched with his brows furrowed.

The Bloody Baron had a reputation for being terrifying. Even Peeves the poltergeist was terrified of him.

As if that wasn't peculiar enough, he saw Nico speak. His eyes flashed threateningly, and the ghost cowered slightly, and his form flickered ever so slightly.

Unfortunately, Ron couldn't hear Nico. He searched his pockets for extendable ears, keeping his eyes on the boy and the ghost.

When he couldn't find it, he decided to inch closer—just a bit. He was aware of the danger of his actions, but logic reasoned that if he wouldn't, there would be much more in danger.

If even the scariest ghost in Hogwarts was afraid of Nico, there was no telling how dangerous he really could be.

Slowly and quietly, he inched closer, and hid behind another column. This time, he was jn the earshot.

He could faintly hear their conversation.

"—who else knows?" He heard Nico speak.

"The other ghosts," the ghost replied with a trembling voice.

"The poltergeist—does he know?"

"I'm-I'm not sure," he said. His form flickered so violently, Ron was afraid he would explode.

"Has Nicholas told you to keep your mouth shut?" Nico asked coldly.

"Yes he has. Spare me, Lord!" The baron begged.

"Fine. Begone." Nico waved his hand, and the ghost disappeared.

Nico sighed, running a hand through his hair. He walked into a room, maybe his, disappearing from Ron's line of vision.

Ron ran to the Gryffindor dorms, twin brothers momentarily forgotten.

He had to tell someone—Harry, Hermione or maybe even Dumbledore.

A Hogwarts ghost just disappeared due to the command of an Amerneo student.

And by Nico Di Angelo, no less.

"Harry!" He yelled urgently.

"Ron!" Harry replied. "There you are. We have to go—it's almost dinner."

Harry dragged Ron's arm excitedly. In the Common Room, they met Hermione, who seemed just as excited as Harry felt.

After what he just saw, Ron couldn't match their exitement, but didn't want to ruin the mood. He would tell them after the announcement of champions.

It could wait till after dinner.


	6. 5: Announcement of Champions

Dumbledore stood in front of a few hundred students, beaming at them. He could clearly see their excitement, their eyes sparked with interest as they conversed with each other.

Excluding the demigods, every soul buzzed with excitement. Even Professor Snape, who was a bit less insufferable.

All day, and even dinner, the distracted demigods had talked only amongst themselves. They listened intently as Nico explained his conversation with the Bloody Baron. Apparently, all the ghosts knew what they were—fake wizards and demigods.

Piper produced encouraging words, adding a bit of charmspeak to ease their anger.

Ron, at the other end of the Gryffindor table, was surprised to see the Bloody Baron wandering around the Slytherin table, showing barely noticeable signs of excitement. He watched in awe as the ghost who had just been threatened acted normally—as if nothing was wrong.

He began to doubt himself. Maybe it was a hallucination, he _had_ eaten some peculiar inventions from Fred and George's candy stash.

But it was much better to be safe. He would tell Harry and Hermione later. Right now, it was almost the announcement of Champions.

Everyone buzzed with tension and excitement.

All eyes whipped to Dumbledore as he cleared his throat.

It was just after dinner. The young students had ate their dinners quite quickly. None were really hungry for food.

Harry was really excited. For once, it wouldn't be him running head first into danger. For once, he could watch someone else do it, from the sidelines.

Percy on the other hand, was much less thrilled. Between finding out how they got sent to the past, and gathering clues, all five demigods had completely forgotten to actually _enter_ the competition.

Even Annabeth, who was usually _very_ responsible, had forgotten. Sleep deprivation was not good for an overworked brain.

The demigods looked at each other in panic; they had really messed up this time. If they hadn't aroused suspicion yet, then this would. If all schools had their own champion while Amerneo had none, it would be more than a disastrous embarrassment. They could only hope that any of the other schools had also forgotten, which of course, given their luck, was not gonna happen.

They watched in horror as the Goblet of Fire, a hundred feet away, was summoned by Dumbledore.

"All champions shall go into this chamber, once their name is called," Dumbledore said, gesturing to a room near the staff table. "Now, the Goblet of Fire shall show its verdict."

With his wand, he made a swishing motion. The floating candles' flames were put out. Now, the only light that existed was the playful blue flames from the Goblet of Fire.

Students watched in awe and wonder, amazement etched upon their youthful faces.

Neville stared intently at the Goblet, tempted to go closer and touch the flames. Suddenly, the flames weren't so playful. It turned tense, matching the students' mood. It stood still, unmoving.

After what seemed like an eternity, the flames turned red, sparks flying with energy.

The flame suddenly grew ten feet tall. It threw a half-burnt piece of parchment, almost angrily. The paper fluttered toward the ground, but was caught by Dumbledore before it could reach the stone floor.

The students gasped with delight, amazed at this.

Dumbledore held it to the fire, so he could read it under the dim light.

"Viktor Krum!" He announced. "The champion of Durmstrang is Viktor Krum!"

The hall burst into applause for the well known quidditch player. He followed Dumbledore's instructions and went into the chamber of champions.

While the students cheered and applauded, the flame had returned to its original blue.

Suddenly, the flames turned red again. Just like it previously did, the Goblet produced a piece of parchment. This time, the flames had a slight mixture of orange, and seemed to drop the paper in a graceful fashion, as if choreographed. Dumbledore caught it and once again, read it in the light of the flames.

"Fleur Delacour!" He announced again. "The Beuxbatons champion is Fleur Delacour!"

A round of polite cheers erupted, and a few Beuxbatons cried in disappointment. The pretty girl with silvery blonde hair stood up. The cheers grew louder, especially amongst boys.

Next, the Hogwarts champion was to be announced. In the same fashion, the Goblet of Fire turned red.

The flames burned higher than the others, but bent down low to drop it to Dumbledore's hand, somewhat politely.

"Cedric Diggory!" Dumbledore beamed proudly. "The Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory!"

The Hufflepuff Table burst into cheers. Hufflepuffs were rarely recognized. They were thought to be average, and are often underestimated. It was nice to have a Hufflepuff represent the school.

Now, the students anticipated the Amerneo champion. Will it be the handsome boy with sea green eyes? The pretty blonde who was very intimidating? The pale boy in all black? The hyperactive Latino? Or the pretty girl with feathers in her hair?

The Amerneo students, however, were all very nervous. Why wouldn't they be? They literally forgot to enter the contest

The fire grew red once more, sparks bouncing off the flame. The demigods looked at it in surprise—they did not expect that.

The flame was smaller than the others, humble, yet fierce.

They watched in interest as Dumbledore caught the fluttering piece of parchment.

As the old Professor read it, he wore a frown.

"Harry...Potter."

Two words formed a name, a name that echoed through the walls as it was whispered with a stutter. It was louder than any shout, and despite Dumbledore's slight stutter, it was heard crystal clear to everyone's ears.

All eyes in the Great Hall turned to the boy who lived. Sime stares were of awe, others in loathing, but all were intense and shocked. He nervously squirmed in his seat as he felt the weight of hundreds of stares. Everyone was shocked beyond belief.

Professor McGonagall was the first to recover. She stood from her seat and quickly walked up and whispered to Professor Dumbledore, who seemed to frown with each word.

It didn't help matters that Dumbledore was giving Harry a hard stare.

Harry turned to Ron and Hermione, who both looked at Harry. The only difference is that Hermione looked at Harry with _curiosity_ , and Ron looked at him with _disgust_.

"You know it wasn't me. You were both with me all day!" Harry said. "You know I couldn't have, you know I wouldn't."

"This is all some...prank," Harry reasoned, trying to find a logical explanation.

However, this was the wizarding world, where logic was not valued, and often defied.

"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore announced once more, this time with conviction and clarity.

Hermione pushed him semi supportively towards the Chamber of Champions. "Go."

Harry reluctantly got up, aware of all the eyes following him. He felt more self-conscious than he ever had. He felt like he was going through the walk of shame, even if he hadn't done anything wrong or even remotely immoral. But Ron's glare was fierce enough to tell him otherwise. He walked through the door, and into the chamber of champions.

He snuck a glance at Dumbledore. He definitely wasn't happy. In fact, Dumbledore was fuming. At who, Harry didn't know, but he wouldn't want it to be him.

This was interrupted as the Goblet of Fire burned green. It was wild and unstoppable, like Greek Fire.

The demigods' eyes widened. They recognized the flame. This would probably be the selection of _their_ champion.

They watched in surprise as the wild green fire burned.

Wild. Unstoppable. Impossible. Greek.

The flame rose, higher than all the other flames have—almost scorching Dumbledore.

It seemed to change between red and green—an internal conflict of sorts.

Finally, the fire burned green. The flame was wild and energetic as it playfully launched a piece of paper, which Dumbledore caught in midair.

 _Perseus Jackson,_ it read with elegant script. It was written in Celestial Bronze ink, as if Riptide was used to write it.

But he couldn't have. Because he was dyslexic, and script and dyslexia just _didn't_ mix.

"Perseus Jackson." Dumbledore said. "Perseus Jackson is the champion of Amerneo."

Percy walked over to the front of the room, shooting nervous looks towards Annabeth, who gave an encouraging smile.

He was both thankful and worried about the fact that someome had put his name in. He couldn't find a logical explanation _why anyone would do this. What did they have to gain? Or what was the intention?_

Annabeth faked a smile and cheered, even clapped loudly. She knew that Percy did not put his name in the Goblet of Fire, but she had to put up a façade that nothing was wrong. But really, everything was wrong.

 _One, they were in the past._

 _Two, someone had put Percy's name in the Goblet of Fire. It sure as hell wasn't her or Percy, and they were the only one truly old enough to pass the Age Line._

 _And three, it happened to Harry too._

Annabeth was reminded of why they were truly there. Their quest, to protect Harry Potter.

Percy stood up, and followed Harry's example. He turned right, and into the Chamber of Champions.

 **Thank you for the amazing reviews!!**

 **24 Follows, 11 Favorites, and 8 wonderful reviews.**

 **They're all pretty uplifting and encouraging.**

 **So far, I think this is my best chapter.**

 **I won't be following the original book's plot. This is an AU, and the existence of demigods are bound to change some things. But I WILL be following the actual personalities of the people.**

 **For Percy, it might be a bit different from other fics, but rereading the Son of Neptune made me realize that he isn't oblivious, he just wasn't the best analyst when it comes to certain things.**

 **Also, the Goblet of Fire's flame represents a small part of the personalities of each champion.**

 **Dumbledore knows this, so he really approves of Cedric. Because even if he rises higher than his other peers, he still shows respect to those who got him there.**

 **Don't forget to REVIEW, FAVORITE, and FOLLOW.**

 **Suggestions? Writing tips? Anything you want to say? You can PM or leave a reciew.**

 **Once again, THANK YOU!!**

 **-FieryBallofCrap**


	7. 6: Arguements and Mysteries

Harry has never felt so out of place in his life, and that was really saying something.

Being a famous wizard had already made him stand out. Wherever he went, eyes followed.

But in the Chamber of champions, there were three seventeen year old wizards looking at him expectantly. They towered over him, making him feel very surrounded.

He _didn't_ beling here. He _shouldn't_ be here.

No doubt they would be upset when they found out what had just happened.

"Zo?" Fleur said. "Ave you come 'ere to zend a message?"

Harry stared at her blankly.

Suddenly, the door swung open. An Amerneo student walked in.

He ran a hand through his black hair. His sea green eyes looked surprised, and he looked very out of place compared to the other wizards and witch. Instead of robes, he wore a bright orange t-shirt and jeans—muggle clothing.

His expression was shocked—identical to Harry's.

Green eyes met green. Percy stared intently into Harry's eyes, reading it for any signs of guilt. Maybe Harry was the one who put his name in the Goblet of Fire.

He didn't find any.

Harry claimed not to have placed his name. Percy wanted to believe him, but years of fighting monsters and a visit to the romans had taught him that _anyone_ could be a conniving liar.

Survival was a matter of manipulation and trickery. Acting skills were a _need_ in dangerous situations. That's how they defeat monsters, after all.

Only that he wasn't against a monster, he was against a wizard. And he wasn't in America, he was in Scotland—in the wizarding world.

Rules are different here. In some ways, it could be more dangerous than New York. He didn't have that usual home court advantage.

Percy gave Harry an intimidating stare. It made Harry's hair stand on end. Percy's stare was about as terrifying as a charging basilisk.

Dumbledore went into the room, followed by Headmasters, Hogwarts teachers, Ludo Bagman, and Barty Crouch.

Dumbledore approached Harry. "Harry," he said calmly. "Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I have not, sir."

"See, he didn't." Dumbledore said.

That exchange caused an uproar.

Maxime and Karkaroff began angrily fighting with Dumbledore. Karkaroff was getting dangerously close to jinxing the wizard in anger. His hand snaked around his wand.

" _Of course_ he's lying!" Maxime exclaimed.

The arguement went on for quite a while.

Soon, it had turned into whether or not Harry would play.

Dumbledore was calm and collected, and expressed his points with authority.

Bagman had insisted that Harry play. "It is in the rules of the Tournament." He held up a book. "Look, here." he said, pointing to a small portion of the page.

 _All names that exit the Goblet of Fire must play. The placement of one's name is a magical binding contract, failure to comply will result to death, or worse consequences._

"You have already bended the rules by allowing the Americans!" Karkaroff reasoned angrily. "What makes _this_ any different?"

"The difference, Igor, is that Harry has a magical binding contract with the Goblet of Fire. Failure to comply may result to...death." Dumbledore said. "Now, you wouldn't want to cause a boy his life, do you?"

His voice was calm, but his eyes were angry. One more peep from Karkaroff, and he wouldn't be able to control his temper.

Karkaroff shut his mouth almost immediately. He couldn't argue with that.

"So it is settled then," Bagman grinned in amusement. "Harry Potter will be our _fifth_ champion."

Dumbledore clasped his hands together. "It's time for bed. You are dismissed."

The five champions exited the room and headed to their dorms. Percy walked beside Harry, trying to start conversation.

"Did you really put your name? I promise I won't tell if you did." Percy asked.

He knew Harry would say he didn't, whether it is truthful or not. But Percy wanted to get a look of Harry when he did, to see if he is lying or not.

"No," Harry sighed, tired. "I didn't."

Percy recognized that sigh. It was his reaction to most things at this point. He was tired. He was tired of being forced into things, tired of it all.

Percy realized that he and Harry weren't very different. In many ways, they related pretty well to each other.

Harry wasn't lying. Truthfully, he was probably sick and tired of being forced to do dangerous things, he just wanted to be left alone.

Harry was sure Percy wouldn't believe him. After all, he was a stranger to Percy. Seeming to have noticed Harry's change in demeanor, Percy spoke.

"Hey," Percy said, smiling gently. "I believe you."

Harry looked at the older boy apprehensively, but could clearly see that he was being genuine.

Harry felt a warm feeling—he hadn't had someone on his side all night. It was comforting to know that someone believed him.

Soon, they parted ways. Unknowingly, they have both made an ally.

Percy walked through the empty halls. His dorm was as usual, was deserted.

He raised a fist to Annabeth's door, but he stopped himself. Now was his chance, he had to find answers. If it was bad, he would rather not have Annabeth worry.

He knew who to go to. Someone he could trust and someone who actually knew things—Albus Dumbledore.

•oOo•

He found Dumbledore in the Great Hall. He was blue casting circles around him—age lines.

Dumbledore tried to step into a particularly small one, but was kept out like an invisible wall was there. He tried many the others. The more he did, the deeper his frown was.

Upon noticing him, Dumbledore waved his wand, cleaning up the mess and removing his glasses. He was testing his age lines, seeing if there really was a possibility of Harry going through it.

So far, it had all worked _flawlessly_. Not one age line was defective in the slightest.

Moody had said that someone might be out to kill Harry.

If that was the case, he would have preferred Harry put his own name rather than someone else.

Seeing that they had all worked perfectly, Harry couldn't have done it.

"May I help you?" The tired wizard asked. Up close, Percy could see the dark circles under his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping well. Judging by the size and darkness, it had been going on for more than one night.

"I didn't put my name in the Goblet of Fire." Percy said.

Dumbledore froze. Tiredness disappeared, replaced by a mixture of surprise, panic and horror.

If Moody was right, and Harry was to be assasinated, then that would mean Percy would be too. Because there was _no way_ that both were accidents.

 _But why would they be against them both specifically?_

Percy waited patiently for an answer. Dumbledore had turned around so that Percy could not see his expression.

When Percy didn't get a reply, he spoke instead. "Harry didn't do it either."

Dumbledore was at a loss for words. He needed time to think, to analyze the situation and its risks.

"Go to bed, Percy." Dumbledore said. "It's late. We'll deal with this tomorrow."

"But—" Percy said.

" _Now_."

•oOo•

The next morning, Percy awoke to a raging Annabeth. She was louding punching his door in an attempt to wake him up.

"Get up, Seaweed Brain!" She shouted. "You have an interview!"

Percy groaned silently. He felt dazed and confused. The sunlight directly hit his eyes painfully. He turned in his bed.

From the shadows, Nico appeared. He clutched the wall, dizzy. He had almost fallen into the darkness again.

Nico held a glass of cold water. He first made sure to stay at least six feet away from Percy's bed before launching it to the son of Posiedon.

The water mostly fell to the floor, but a bit of it hit Percy's sock covered feet. Percy sat up, dangerously fast.

"Augh," he grunted. The water gave him energy, but a pair of wet socks will always feel disgusting.

"Thanks, Nico."

"No problem."

From his small backpack, he grabbed a blue t-shirt and jeans. And went into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, he emerged from his room, feeling completely clean and energetic.

He sauntered over to Annabeth, who was impatiently tapping her foot on the floor. She looked pissed. For a moment, Percy feared for his life.

Beside her, a woman with bleached blonde hair stood. Her eyes looked around condescendingly. She smiled at him like a cheetah about to pounce, and he saw that she had exactly three gold teeth. She seemed like a witch—meant in the insulting way.

"Perseus Jackson!" She exclaimed, making him wince at his full name. "How lovely to meet you, I'm Rita Skeeter."

He suddenly understood Annabeth's mood. Annabeth had ranted non-stop about a certain Rita Skeeter. Her article was absolutely terrible and biased.

"It's Percy."

She pulled his hand, dragging him deeper into the secluded hallway that is the Amerneo dorms.

"So I hear that this is the first Triwizar—oh, Quadwizard Tournament your school has joined. How does it feel to be the champion?"

"Er...I guess a bit weird? I don't really know," Percy replied.

A quill beside her wrote down many words. Being dyslexic, Percy couldn't read them. They jumbled up together in a mess of letters and spaces.

"Now tell me more about your school—Amerneo."

"Well, it's more focused on teaching combat. In a fight with a Dark Wizards, it is very likely for them to surround you. Now, if they all decide to attack, then—"

"Yes," Rita interrupted. "Very nice. Do you have a girlfriend?"

Percy frowned at the interruption, but did not comment.

"Yeah, she's standing right there." Percy pointed at Annabeth, who was intently watching from a distance. "She's very pretty, as you can see. But she's also really smart. I hones—"

"That's nice," Rita said. "Now tell me about your parents, what are they like?"

Now, Percy was annoyed.

"Well," He said, gritting his teeth. "My mom is absolutely amazing. She's the most supportive and kind woman ou—"

That's when Percy lost it—verbally, of course. Interviews were _not_ supposed to be like this.

"But what about your fa—" Rita said.

"Are you always like this?" Percy interrupted.

"What do y—"

"You know, rude."

"I am _not r—"_

Is it annoying?"

"Wh—"

"Is it annoying, Rita, _is it_?"

"I—"

"This concludes the interview," Percy said. "I'm sorry to cut it short, but _I don't_ _like_ _you_."

He got up and walked away, leaving the journalist dumbfounded. He didn't have time for annoyingly rude journalists. He had more important things to do, like eat breakfast.

"Come on, Wise Girl." He laced his fingers with hers. "Let's go to breakfast."

 ** _In chapter four, I made a mistake. I confused Estelle with Sophie._**

 ** _I don't even know a Sophie._**

 _ **Thank you, Pjsfangirlforlife for pointing that out.** **I have corrected it.**_

 ** _Anyway, I don't think this chapter is very good. It really isn't my best._**

 ** _But THANK YOU for the love and support for this story._**

 ** _Don't forget to FOLLOW, FAVORITE, and REVIEW. But only if you really like it._**

 ** _-FieryBallofCrap_**


	8. 7: A String of Mishaps

Harry slowly walked to the Gryffindor tower late the night of the choosing, thinking. He was still in shock.

Of all the possible candidates of the Quadwizard Tournament, he was one he least expected to be chosen. It mostly had to do with the fact that he _hadn't_ put his name in the Goblet of Fire.

Truth be told, he was terrified. He had overheard Moody and Dumbledore's conversation.

 _Someone might be out to kill Potter._

Obviously, his first guess (if it were true) would be Voldemort. Honestly, with all the attempts to kill Harry, this was a no-brainer.

But to actually _perform_ a confundus charm, you would need a hand—unless he somehow learned wandless magic, which Harry highly doubted.

If even the _most skilled_ and _most talented_ witches and wizards struggled to perform the most basic spells, then it would be nearly impossible for Voldemort to do a spell as complicated and as powerful as a confundus charm.

All evidence points to one other hypothesis; Voldemort got someone to do his dirty work—like Professor Quirrel.

Harry's heart raced at this realization. His mind began running a million miles an hour, stringing up clues, connecting events, and recalling memories.

He knew someone who;

a. Was previously a Death Eater,

b. Hated him without reason,

and

c. Generally made Harry suffer as much as he could.

And that, all refers to Severus Snape.

He remembered how Snape reacted during the arguement. He was completely against Harry competing, but it might just be a facade, an act to seem innocent.

Still, Harry had his doubts. While Snape was generally a pretty bad guy, he had his moments.

"Is it true?" said the painting covering the Gryffindor Tower entrance, the Fat Lady. "You've been chosen as a Hogwarts champion?"

"Baderdash." Harry replied, eager to get away.

He has had a pretty stressful night. Between possible assasination and overthinking, he didn't really have much energy to deal with questions.

The painting, seeming the sense his mood, swung open for him. He hastily climbed in, hoping to reach his bed and have a good, long sleep. Tomorrow was Sunday, after all.

However, the whole Gryffindor House had other plans. The moment Harry entered the common room, he knew that there was no way he would be able to sleep early tonight.

Butterbeer, candy, pastries, and crisps filled the table. Screams and laughter echoed throughout the room.

Fred and Geroge, no doubt the organizers of this celebration, lifted Harry up on their shoulders, with the help of Lee Jordan.

"The Hogwarts Champion," Fred said.

"Harry Potter!" George exclaimed.

Loud cheers erupted from the crowd, proud to be in the same house as Harry.

After that, it was a blur. People from all over approached Harry, most of them asking him how he put his name in the Goblet of Fire.

No matter how many times he explained not entering, they wouldn't believe him. Instead, they winked knowingly, and patted him on the head. _Sure, Harry._

Harry was short for his age. Malnutrition from the Dursleys had denied him of proper growth.

By the time Harry escaped the Gryffindors, it was already way past midnight. He had tried to find Ron and Hermione all night, without any luck.

Harry went to his room. He was tired, both physically and mentally.

Upon opening the door, he saw a flash of red hair. Harry couldn't believe it—Ron had been here all night.

Harry let out an exhausted sigh. "You wouldn't believe how—"

"How did you do it?" Ron asked. "Put your name in the Goblet."

Depite his tiredness, Harry detected the accusing tone in his voice.

"I didn't," Harry replied. "I don't know—"

"C'mon Harry," Ron said irritably. "Aren't I supposed to be your _best friend?"_

Ron pronounced _best friend_ with malice, as if the use of the word was offensive.

"I've told you," Harry said, getting irritated himself. "I. Didn't. Put. My. Name."

He stopped between words, emphasizing them. His tone was similar to the tone used to explain things to a toddler.

This further angered Ron. It began a screaming match, and ended with Ron shutting the curtains around his bed.

Both went to sleep miserable that night.

•oOo•

The next morning, Harry still did not talk to Ron. They seemed to be giving each other the silent treatment; neither would back down soon.

Hermione was caught in the middle. They were both her best friends, but right now, Harry needed her more.

Backlash from the other houses and some teachers caused Harry great sorrow, while the overbearing attention of the Gryffindors brought Harry great discomfort.

Hogwarts was once his home, but it had since turned into a nightmare—all because of a stupid piece of paper.

Malfoy was seizing the opportunity to piss Harry off to the highest degree.

His insults and taunts began to really affect Harry.

A particularly horrible taunt had caused Harry to snap.

"Where's your boyfriend, Potter?" Malfoy sneered, referring to Ron. "Gone to find a more competent partner, I suppose."

"You aren't exactly the _honest_ type."

All the pent up anger and frustration emerged with raging fury.

Even if he used all his willpower, he wouldn't have been able to stop himself.

Hermione tried to hold him back—she really did. But all it brought her was trouble; and soon she was on her way to the infirmary, while Harry was left alone—friendless in crisis.

During potions, a Colin Creevey ran in, out of breath. It was time for the weighing of the wands.

After much persuasion, Creevey managed to make Snape let Harry go.

While walking, Colin made small talk with Harry. Creevey lead Harry to a small classroom. Inside, he saw three champions, and Rita Skeeter.

Harry sat down on a seat, exhausted. Rita was interviewing Victor Krum, while Fleur and Cedric talked amongst themselves. He examined the other champions.

Cedric Diggory looked more handsome than usual, and that was saying a lot. His brown hair always fell into place, almost effortlessly. His blue eyes were bright and intriguing, and his nose was straight and sharp. Truly, he was a work of art.

He had always been recognized for his looks and talent in Quidditch.

A part of Harry felt happy for his newfound glory. He really _is_ a nice guy. Another part of Harry felt jealous—why couldn't he look like that?

Victor Krum did not have to look nice to be recognized. He was legendary, known as a very talented Quidditch player, Harry suspected that he was better on broom than on his feet.

Since watching the Quidditch cup, Harry couldn't help but idolize the guy. He seemed tough, as if he could withstand even the most painful blows—both physically and mentally. He looked like an immovable rock.

Fleur Delacour oozed beauty and grace. Being part veela, she had a built in love potion. Everywhere she went, boys swooned, falling under her spell.

Her movements were graceful—prim and proper. But Harry did not doubt for a moment that she was also be fierce and strong.

The door on the right opened, and in came Percy Jackson.

He gave a couldn't-care-less impression. The way he was almost always at ease, twirling a ballpoint pen in his hand. He walked slowly, as if he had all the time in the world.

He was handsome too. Definitely not as much as Cedric, but he was ruggedly handsome, opposite to Cedric. Whereas Cedric's hair was permanently neat, Percy's was a mess. He looked like a troublemaker, a bad boy.

But Harry saw him differently. Percy had believed him, without a question. He had stared Harry down, and Harry knew from one look that this guy was _not_ to be messed with. In a way, Harry respected him.

"Harry!" Rita Skeeter said, finishing off the interview with Krum.

"Come, I _must_ interview you."

 **Okay. I'm sorry for not updating yesterday.**

 **HAHAHA**

 **I had the chapter ready, it was already proofread and revised. But somehow, it felt not up to usual standards. Because of that, I revised it.**

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	9. 8: Peculiarities of Percy

After a brief interview, Harry was released. He returned to the small classroom, to find Mr. Ollivander standing beside Dumbledore.

They were having a serious conversation. Mr. Ollivander's brows furrowed, and he snuck a glance at Percy.

Percy looked very nervous. He cautiously clutched his wand on his hand, examining it. He was gently holding it like a dangerous yet fragile weapon.

Percy stared at it carefully, as if it could explode any moment, which unfortunately was a possibility.

For some reason, wand design was _not_ simple. There were intricate details to each wand—carvings upon the magical wood.

The carving gave the wand personality, it was what set each wand apart, apart from its core, of course.

Most came with a grip at the bottom, like Percy's.

Percy carefully ran a finger down the grip of the wand. There was spiraling designs,that seemed to shift slightly, like the Labyrinth.

Slightly above the grip, was a carving in Latin.

For some unknown reason, Percy could not decipher the words, despite his usual ability to read in Latin. It was as if his usual dyslexia decided to extend to Latin too. The words floated, swirling and interchanging with each other.

He couldn't tell if it was simply the magic in the wand, or something else.

Beside him, Harry sat down and kept a brief conversation with Cedric. Directly in front of them, four judges sat on fancy velvet chairs.

Dumbledore and Ollivander finished their conversation, and Dumbledore walked up to the five Champions.

Brief introductions were made, and soon, the Weighing of the Wands commenced.

Mr. Ollivander carefully inspected each champion's wand, determining its size and core like the professional he was.

After inspecting four wands, it was finally time for the inspection of Percy's wand.

He held his hand out the the boy, asking for the wand.

Percy reluctantly placed the wand on Ollivander's hand. Upon contact, Ollivander felt a surge of power in the wand. It was buzzing with magical energy.

It was not an ordinary wand. He hadn't seen a wand this powerful for a long time. It was like a wand he had believed to be lost, it had the same feel and energy as the Elder Wand.

But he knew that it wasn't the Elder Wand—it was different. The design was different.

The Elder wand felt proud, and powerful. This wand held a different feel, it was young and excited.

It had the combined core of two magical creatures. It was decorated creatively, and sculpted to perfection.

He turned the wand to see Latin engraving. He read the words.

 _Ut quid celatur_

It was as if he was under the Imperius Curse and was charmspoken to at the same time. Resistance would have been impossible. He was dazed, confused. But he knew that he had to announce the wand as good.

"Unicorn hair. 12 inches." Ollivander said. A pump of sparkles exploded from the wand. "In perfect condition."

It wasn't a lie—but it wasn't the whole truth.

Percy saw Ollivander's from slowly disappear as he developed a glassy look in his eye.

It was a familiar sight. Percy had seen Piper charmspeak hundereds of times.

But Piper _wasn't_ here. And as far as Percy knew, _no one_ had even opened their mouth aside from Mr. Ollivander himself.

•oOo•

Harry entered Care of Magical Creatures, tormented by Malfoy, and too emotionally and physically drained to fire back.

"I heard that half the champions in the Tournament die." He sneered. "With Potter's utter incompetence, I highly doubt he'd last five minutes."

Percy was nearby, tending to the pegasi and hearing every word. It has been going for at least five minutes, and Barry had nit made an effort to defend himself.

Anger flared up in him. As a victim of bullying, he knew that bullying is _not cool._

And being Percy Jackson, he was the defender of the bullied.

He casually walked over to them with his pegasus Blackjack, pretending to look for Hagrid.

 _Fake sick_ , _and you'll get donuts._ Percy said telepathically. The pegasus faked a limp.

Telepathic Horse Communication was a new skill he had just learned. It slightly drained his energy like water bending, but it was a pretty useful skill.

Percy faked a concerned frown.

Malfoy perked up upon seeing Percy, and temporarily stopped taunting Harry. Since landing on Hogwarts, Percy has shown nothing but being powerful.

Even without seeing him in action, the way he carried himself with confidence and led the pegasus landing was enough to convince everyone of his high capabilities.

Draco wanted to be friends with the best of the Amerneo wizards, maybe learn some _actual Defense Against the Dark Arts._

You know, for future reference.

"Hey, Percy." Malfoy said smugly as Percy passed. "I'm Draco Malfoy."

He had to stay smug, arrogant. He wouldn't humble himself down. As his father said;

 _Malfoys don't humble themselves. They command respect._

"Hey Harry," Percy said, completely ignoring him. "Have you seen Hagrid? There's a problem with my pegasus—he's limping."

Malfoy frowned. He didn't like being ignored.

"I think he's in his hut," Harry replied.

"Thanks," Percy said.

Percy led the limping Blackjack to walk beside Malfoy.

 _Spread your wings._ Percy told the pegasus.

Blackjack spread his wings, effectively hitting Malfoy square in the face. The boy fell backward, and landed on a _Blast-Ended Skrewt._

"Oh," Percy said, shooting Harry a hidden smirk. "Whoops."

Malfoy hastily got up, complaining and sputtering.

Harry got the message. Percy was defending him, in his own petty way.

He smiled slightly.

 _With the world against him, it was good to know that at least someone defended him._

Percy had a brief conversation with Hagrid. Eventually, he nodded, and led the pegasus away.

"I'll get you your donuts tomorrow. Thanks, Blackjack." Percy said, out of the earshot of the class. He had gotten slightly tired of speaking telepathically. He had been doing it all morning. Besides, they were far from the class.

 _You'd better,_ Blackjack whinned. _I heard the big dude say that they got dragons for the first task._

Big dude was the pegasi's nickname for Hagrid. He was a very large man, almost as tall as a cyclops.

 _"Dragons_?" Percy said incredulously. "How am I going to get past _that_?"

 _I don't know. Will ya need a ride, boss?_ Blackjack said.

"Yeah, I guess." Percy said. "Will you be fr—"

A loud gasp was heard, effectively making Percy shut up. A nearby bush shook, and Percy's survival instincts kicked in.

Percy went over to investigate, getting out Riptide. He searched the bush, but saw nothing and no one. He capped his sword.

Percy walked away. _That's weird. There was nothing in the bush._

 _It's probably nothing, boss._ Blackjack said.

 _Yeah, probably. So listen, do you know anything about us being sent to the past?_

To be safe, Percy had switched back to telepathic conversations.

 _We're in the past?_ Blackjack asked incredulously. _Why didn't you tell me,boss?_

 _We just found out too. With all the things going on, it's hard to find time._ Percy said.

Beside him, another pegasus approached.

 _Blackjack, time to go!_ Guido whinned loudly.

 _Sorry boss, gotta go._ Blackjack whinned

 _To where?_ Percy said.

 _Nea's birthday party._

Nea was another pegasus, a girl.

 _Oh. Tell her I say Happy Birthday._ Percy said.

 _Sure boss,_ Blackjack said.

With that, he flew away, and Percy left.

About two feet away from the bush that previously moved, Harry hid behind a tree. His heart racing. It felt wrong to intrude in Percy's conversations. He was one of the few who were still kind to him throughout this whole ordeal.

But Harry couldn't believe what he heard. Percy talking to a horse was pretty damn cool, and sketchy.

Harry had assumed that in the same way he could talk to snakes, Percy could talked to horses.

But another thing nagged in his mind. When Percy sensed trouble, he didn't bring out his wand like a normal wizard. He brought out a three foot long sword, with a peculiar blade.

The sword was weird, it seemed to glow. It was special.

He was reminded of the swird of Gryffindor, which had similar characteristics.

Harry had walked away, confused and slightly scared.

Maybe Percy was the one out to kill him.

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 **Would you guys like to read a Hecate is Fallen, mist is gone story?**

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	10. 9: Analysis of Events

Harry felt as if the whole world fell into place. Clues were puzzle pieces matched, and fit together perfectly to form a very plausible conclusion.

Like Mad-Eye Moody had predicted, someone was out to kill him.

And that someone was Percy Jackson.

It all made sense.

The way he was very secretive, and stayed mostly with the Americans.

 _They were hiding something, maybe a plan to kill Harry._

The way he glared at Harry the night of choosing.

 _He was furious at Harry for defeating Voldemort, his boss._

The way he almost immediately believed in Harry to be innocent.

 _He knew that Harry was innocent because he was the one behind the whole ordeal._

The way he just appeared out of nowhere, with no explainations regarding his whereabouts.

 _It was all a lie—he was a Death Eater._

And the way he had reacted upon suspecting an eavesdropper on his secretive conversation with the horse.

 _He brought out his sword, ready to kill. Perhaps it was a new form of dark magic._

Hermione frowned as Harry laid out these clues and relayed his conclusion.

She had recently began to be friends with Annabeth, and Annabeth had explained that Percy has gone through a lot in his lifetime, and that he has a very particular set of skills.

Hermione did not doubt Harry, she knew that he was not lying. She trusted her friend.

But something was off. Compared to other Death Eaters, Percy seemed quite outgoing and friendly, very different.

He definitely did not have the personality of a Death Eater.

She looked at the small things; small things may hint to a bigger picture, to the full truth.

Truly, the Amerneo students were all very...peculiar.

Percy had an aura of power. He was usually in a good mood, but on the very few days that he wasn't, the air was much more humid. It made her already bushy hair even bushier.

Annabeth was nice, but she was also very smart, which intimidated Hermione. Hermione has rarely met anyone to meet her, or maybe even surpass her, in an intellectual level.

Nico was kind of creepy. He was constantly in the shadows, and despite his pale features, he blended in with shadows. He was dark, brooding, mysterious, and most likely _dangerous_.

Piper was very pretty. She seemed to have the powers of a veela, she made people (especially men) listen to her without hesitation. Which was unusual, since she affected women too.

Leo was a wild card. No one knew what to expect of him. He was constantly fiddling with something, or fidgeting with ordinary objects, and creating new objects. He was creative and crafty, but very unpredictable.

Upon leaving the Hospital Wing from a visit, she had met Annabeth, who was reading _The Little Princess._ As a child, she had always loved that book.

It was very inspirational. The fall and rise of a rich girl who had remained kind throughout the book had taught her many things.

"Hey," Hermione said. "I loved that book. Where are you in?"

"Oh," Annabeth said, smiling. "Sarah is dreaming about food."

Thus, a friendship began.

It would be a shame if that friendship would be ruined. Which would totally happen when— no, _if_ —Harry proves that Percy is a Death Eater.

"Harry," Hermione said. "I really do believe you, I honestly do."

Hermione bit her lip. "But you don't have enough evidence to support your claim—most of your 'proof' isn't legitimate. It could mean anything."

Harry considered her words. Hermione was smart, he ought to listen to her. But a voice inside him told him not to.

Hermione was wrong. Percy is evil. Percy is here to kill him.

No amount of persuasion should convince him otherwise.

•oOo•

Percy went to Dumbledore's office, craving for information he had requested a few nights before.

He knocked semi urgently. Dumbledore answered a few seconds later. He hadn't had the time to do much lately.

"Come in," Dumbledore said with a sigh, knowing the reason for the visit.

"So?" Percy said, impatiently following the elderly professor deeper into his office.

He wanted answers, he needed to know what was going on.

Dumbledore talked to a moving painting. "Call the others."

The painting exited his frame, and reappeared in the Amerneo Hall. It summoned the other demigods, who in turn, went to Dumbledore's office too.

Soon, everyone was settled. Nico, Piper, Leo, Percy and Annabeth looked at Dumbledore expectantly, and Percy coldly.

He'd been distant lately, trying to fix problems on his own. The fact that he didn't ask his friends for help offended them. After all they've been through _together,_ he shouldn't.

"So as you all know," He started. "Percy is your 'school champion' when you aren't even supposed to have one. And since none of you even _entered_."

He glared at all the demigods. Some looked away, while some challenged his glare as if to say, _Yeah, so what?_

"This might be a very bad sign. Harry Potter has also joined, and he hadn't entered himself either. I'm thinking it's both connected. Now, Mad Eye Moody seems to think that someone is out to kill Potter.

"If it really is so, then—"

"They're trying to kill me." Percy said.

The room temperature dropped a few degrees with this information. First, they found out about being sent to past. Now, someone might be out to get kill Percy.

The quest kept on getting more and more dangerous. There are definitely more sinister forces at work, probably magical.

Piper stood up. "Maybe they aren't planning to kill Percy." She added slight charmspeak into her voice, to calm everyone down a bit.

"Well, it _has_ been said that Moody is very paranoid." Nico supplied.

All demigod eyes turned to Annabeth. "What do you think, Annabeth?"

Annabeth felt the overwhelming pressure to be the perfect daughter of Athena with all the answers. Not having answers kind of hurt her pride, and that was painful for someone with Hubris as a fatal flaw.

"I think that it could be something else," Annabeth said. "But we should be more careful—all of us. If someone _is_ trying to kill Percy, then there's a huge chance that they know why we are here, who we are, and that they're after _all of us."_

A tension filled the air. They let statement sink in.

 _Why we are here_

But why were they here? To protect Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom?

Percy, Annabeth, and Nico were assigned to protect Harry, while Piper and Leo protected Neville. So far, they encountered no problems with that.

But in different aspects of the quest, mysteries formed, and they learn that things aren't as they seem. Why were they here? There must be a bigger purpose to all this—this madness.

In a few days, they have formed many unanswered questions. They lacked clues, and they needed help.

They looked at Dumbledore, yearning for answers. He was the wizard here, he _had to_ know something, _anything_.

The old man shook his head, dejected. He was as clueless as they were. He had no clue about the plans of Hecate.

By now, it was clear that protecting Harry Potter might not be the full reason for their travel.

They left the office, and Percy told them about his coversation with Blackjack.

"Percy, if you get us discovered, I swear I will strangle you." Nico said.

"Yeah, I'll be more careful." He promised,

"Dragons?" Leo said incredulously. "You can't just defeat _dragons!"_

"I know Percy is strong," Piper ran a hand through her braids, worried. "But no matter how strong you are, you can't just defeat dragons! Are they crazy?"

Annabeth had remained silent. "Maybe Percy doesn't _have to_ defeat the dragon." She smiled, for the first time in days.

The other demigods looked at her curiously, unsure og her plan.

"What?" Percy said.

Annabeth smiled. "I have a plan."

 **Thanks for the favorites, follows, and reviews!!**

 **I'm trying to get a solid plot to the other story (mist is gone thing), but I haven't figured out a good title.**

 **So...suggestions??**

 **I am in dire need of suggestions.**

 **Next chapter will FINALLY be the the First Task.**

 **It took a _lotta_ chapters but it's here.**


	11. 10: Tension and Anticipation

Sirius Black's fiery head glowered up at Harry from the fire.

"Harry," he said, flatly. "You can't just let him _die."_

"Well, he _probably_ won't—"

"You _have to_ tell him. Besides, if anyone put your name, its likely Karakoff." Sirius's eyebrows furrowed irritatably at the mention of the Death Eater.

Harry nervously fiddled with the hem of his robes, contemplating whether or not he would tell Percy about the first task. Every other Champion already knew, it was only fair that Percy did too. But Percy might be the one to put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire. Did he really deserve to know?

 _Yes,_ Sirius repeated in his mind like a recording. _What if he dies because you didn't tell him?_

Harry sighed. Of course he couldn't just let Percy go in unprepared. They were going against a _dragon._ It couldn't get more life-threatening than that.

"Fine." Harry said. He wasn't eager to be alone with the mysterious boy by the name of Percy Jackson.

Harry glanced at the burning piece of parchment in the fire.

There was only a day and a half till the first task, so Harry had to tell him very soon.

.oOo.

 _THE QUADWIZARD_ _CHAMPIONS by Rita Skeeter_

 _THE QUADWIZARD TOURNAMENT HAS NOT THREE, BUT FIVE CHAMPIONS. ONE OF WHICH, IS HARRY POTTER._

 _FROM A VERY YOUNG AGE, HARRY HAS BEEN ORPHANED, HIS PARENTS BRUTALLY MURDERED BY YOU-KNOW-WHO. BUT HARRY SURVIVED, AND DEFEATED HIM. HE IS VERY FAMOUS AROUND THE WIZARDING WORLD, BUT IT SEEMS TO NOT BE ENOUGH FOR THE YOUNG MAN. AT THE RIPE AGE OF FOURTEEN, HE HAS JOINED THE TOURNAMENT, WHICH REQUIRES A CHAMPION TO BE AT LEAST SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD._

 _DURING AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, THE BOY TEARED UP, EYES SWIMMING WITH THE GHOSTS OF HIS PAST. "I WANT TO MAKE MY FATHER AND MOTHER PROUD." HE SAID._

 _HARRY POTTER, AN ORPHANED CHILD, CONSTANTLY AT THE CENTER OF ATTENTION HAS FOUND LOVE AT HOGWARTS. ACCORDING TO STUDENT WITNESSES, HE IS ALWAYS SEEN WITH THE YOUNG HERMIONE GRANGER, A TALENTED YOUNG WITCH._

 _LIKE HARRY, SHE IS—_

"Bullshit," Annabeth said, reading. There was no better word to describe the article. She knew that Hermione and Harry were just friends—nothing more. She skipped four whole pages, all dedicated to Harry.

She knew that Skeeter could be very biased and controversial (in the worst way). Annabeth currently wanted to run Skeeter with a Celestial Bronze knife.

Surely with that monstrous amount of decit, she would be heading to Tartarus. You know, where souless monsters go.

She flipped the Daily Prophet to the next page, hoping to see anything that could help Percy survive the First Task.

She gasped upon seeing the next page. It was about Percy.

A large picture of Percy was shown. His was angry, filled with hate and annoyance. It was Percy's wolf stare. It was his most intimidating glare, it scared _everyone_.

She noticed another thing, Percy was moving, not completely still. He put a hand over his face and turned around. The picture was like a video played continuously, like a GIF.

She continued to read the article.

 _AS MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, THERE IS A FOURTH WIZARDING SCHOOL COMPETING—AMERNEO SCHOOL OF MODERN EDUCATION FOR THE ELITE. THIS WIZARDING SCHOOL BROUGHT UPON US A YOUNG MAN, PERRY JAKSON._

 _PERRY JAKSON IS A YOUNG MAN WITH RUDE BEHAVIOR. DURING AN INTERVIEW, HE REFUSED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND KEPT A MENACING GLARE ON THE JOURNALIST._ _SUCH BEHAVIOR FROM PERRY JAKSON WARRANTS THE RISE IN SUSPICION FOR THE FOURTH WIZARDING SCHOOL._

 _ACCORDING TO EYEWITNESSES, HE HAS ATTACKED A STUDENT WITH A PEGASUS. ONE CANNOT FEEL SAFE AROUND SUCH BEHAVIOR. TRUTHFULLY, IT SHOULD NOT BE TOLERATED. CITIZENS MUST FURTHER QUESTION THE DECISIONS MADE BY THE MINISTERY OF MAGIC, THIS IS A SIGN OF POOR DECISION MAKING SKILLS._

 _THIS SHALL COME AS A WARNING TO MANY, DO NOT TRUST PERRY JAKSON OR ANY OF HIS PEERS._

 _ESPECIALLY ANABET CHAIS. ACCORDING TO PRIVATE SOURCES, ANABET CHAIS IS THE SWEETHEART OF DELINQUENT CHAMPION OF AMERNEO PERRY JAKSON. THEY ARE ALWAYS TOGETHER, TALKING AMONGST THEMSELVES AND LOOKING AROUND IN PARANOIA. THIS BEHAVIOR HINTS TO SECRETS, OR PLANS THEY WOULD NOT LIKE UNCOVERED._

 _THE OTHER CHAMPIONS ARE FLUR DELACOR AND VICTOR CRUM._

Annabeth hastily tore the newspaper. It seems that Skeeter has the skill to twist the truth to cause as much controversy as possible.

She couldn't even get their names right.

 _Perry Jakson?_

 _Anabet Chais?_

That was just plain lazy. Even a dyslexic could do better than that.

True, Percy did not finish the interview, but she was simply being rude—something Percy did not tolerate.

There was no point in stressing about such insignificant problems. Annabeth learned long ago that it was better to quickly find a solution than to whine. If only she could find a plan to expose Skeeter as a liar without being suspected, then it would totally solve numerous problems.

Annabeth heard a knock on the door. She stood up to open it. Upon opening, she found the hallway empty.

Annabeth's hand found its way to her drakon bone sword, ready to attack any possible monsters.

She found an piece of paper on the floor. Cautiously, she picked it up. It was addressed to Percy.

 _To Percy,_

 _Dragons. The first task is to get past dragons._

 _-Harry P._

Annabeth felt a flutter of relief as she read it. "Thank the gods," she muttered.

Harry must have delivered it to the wrong room. It was understandable, since he didn't know the room assignments.

She initially thought that she would need to get Leo and Festus involved so that Percy might survive. But Percy didn't have to slay the dragon, he simply had to get past it.

It was really good news, considering the fact that Celestial Bronze did not cut through dragons.

Hydras? Sure. But not dragons or drakons.

Though good news, it did not mean that their problems were over. Percy _still_ had to face a dragon.

Even with Percy's skill and training, it would be impossible to outrun a creature that size. Unlike usual, they couldn't rely on trickery. Their words would fall on deaf ears.

Percy would _obviously_ be allowed a wand. He would have to use that.

Annabeth grabbed a book of spells, and flipped through it. She discovered something useful, something called _Transfiguration_

Annabeth grinned. Percy was allowed to use his powers.

.oOo.

The time had finally come for the first task. The five champions were in the large tent, awaiting instruction.

Ludo Bagman walked into the tent, holding a small velvet bag.

"Time to fill you in," he said, effectively making the champions huddle up. "This bag,"—he held up the velvet bag—"contains a small _replica_ of the dragon you are to face. Each dragon you face is different from the other. Once the audience has settle down, you are to draw one dragon from this sack."

Bagman tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Ah yes...the goal is to grab the golden egg, which holds the clue for your next task."

Bagman's eyes swept over the champions with glee and excitement. Cedric turned to face the others. He could clearly see the dark circles that rimmed Harry's eyes, the unusually pale complexion of Fleur, the Krum's exessive surliness, and Percy's somewhat nervous expression.

Cedric felt his heart drum loudly in his chest as the cheers of the crowd outside grew. The seats of the stadium were quickly getting filled. Soon, it was time to choose the dragons. 

They went alphabetically. Percy of course, went first. He reached into the bag, and pulled out a tiny creature. 

"Ow," Percy said. The small replica had bitten him.

It had spiny wings and a long snout. It screamed ferociously and adorably. A number four was written on it, signifying Percy to be the fourth champion to go.

"Norwegian Ridgeback," Bagman said. "Eats sea creatures like dolphins."

"Delacour," Bagman faced Fleur, motioning for her to pick a dragon.

A grass green dragon was taken from the bag. It roared, which seemed quite weak. A number two was written bright and clear on the dragon's side.

"Common Welsh Green." Bagman supplied. "Lives in grasslands and mountains."

Krum picked out a Chinese Fireball, a fire breathing red beast, with a number three scribbled on its wing.

Cedric had ther opportunity to pick before Harry. He would either go first or go last. He braced himself, and was filled with dread to see a blueish gray dragon breathing blue flames with a number one written on its neck. He had gotten a Swedish Short Snout.

Harry had no choice, he grabbed the final dragon within the velvet pouch, a Hungarian Horntail. Out of all the dragons, this one looked most terrifying. With the black scales, bronze horns and spiky tails, it was scary. Oh, and it breathed fire too.

Bagman whistled as he saw Harry's rotten luck. Harry's life was truly in danger. To survive, Harry would have to be exceptionally amazing.

Bagman pulled Harry aside, offering advice, which Harry politely declined.

Bagman then proceeded to take his seat among the Judges, passing by a few hundred students.

The chilly air froze Leo to the bone. He was ready to burst out some flames, but thought that it would be a bad idea, since it would arise suspicion.

They couldn't afford to be suspicious now, especially with the being in the past thing.

He really should have packed an extra jacket.

Beside him, Piper was currently engaged in a conversation with Neville.

In some ways, Leo could relate with Neville. They both felt inferior to their friends, and carried some sort of trauma. But of course, most demigods carried trauma.

Neville was really kind, but very forgetful. Leo could tell that Neville wanted to ask about his constant fidgeting, but he remained silent. 

Neville respected people. Even Nico and Leo, the classified Amerneo psycho and weirdo were shown respect. It was one of his best qualities. 

Piper and Neville were quickly turning into close friends. Unfortunately, one sided feeling were being developed, which would not be reciprocated.

Leo talked to Nico beside him. Nico kinda creeped Leo out. Besides the whole son of Hades thing, he also had the power of intimidation and control of ghosts.

Nico was on top of Leo's Don't Piss Off list along with Percy, Annabeth, and Jason. 

Yeah, they were scary.

"I'm gonna go find Annabeth," Nico said.

Leo didn't want to let him go. Before Leo...died, he had heard _rumors_ of Nico liking Annabeth. Leo didn't think they were just rumors.

If this was Nico's way of moving in to Percy's girl, Leo was sure it was a bad idea. 

There are three things you don't do to Percy Jackson;

One, eat his blue pancakes or cookies,

Two, insult any of his friends,

Or three (the worst) try to get it with Annabeth, or harm her in any way.

"Hey Nico," Leo said, awkwardly. "I know you like Annabeth—"

Nico looked at Leo incredulously. " _What?_ Gods no, Leo. I'm gay."

Leo's eyes widened. "You are?" 

That explained a lot. Especially his closeness with Will, and constant appearance in the infirmary. Nico liked Will. 

Leo wanted to slap himself for being so oblivious, but settled for a nod. Completely at ease with the new information. Nico left, searching for Annabeth. 

Leo decided to listen in Piper and Neville's conversation. 

"Percy Jackson right?" Neville said.

"Yeah," Piper said. "He's a good friend."

"Oh, nice." Neville spoke. "Is it true that you like him?"

"What?" Piper laughed. "Percy's got a girlfriend!"

"You didn't say no."

"I really don't like him."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Ludo Bagman's voice boomed into the mic, catching the attention of a hundred of students, just as Nico arrived with Annabeth.

Leo put a hand on Piper's mouth. "Shut up, it's starting!"

 **Before you say anything, let me get this straight: Neville and Piper _will not_ be a thing. **

**Piper has Jason.**

 **Also, Leo wasn't there at there end of the Blood of Olympus when Nico came out of the closet, and somehow no one told him.**

 **AND I might accidentally do movie Goblet of Fire, which I'm trying to avoid, to avoid inconsistencies. But I might add a bit if it makes the story better.**

 **Also WOW.**

 **Thats a sh*tload of Favorites, Follows, and Reviews.**

 **Seriously, THANK YOU.**

 **Especially for the people who take the time to actually review the story.**

 **AAND**

 **The Mist story is up its called**

 ** _Truth Unveiled_**

 **The first chapter is up, second will be up before Friday next week.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, its a long one.**

 **Don't forget to FAVORITE, FOLLOW, and REVIEW.**


	12. 11: To Face A Dragon

The stadium filled with students roared with noise and excitement as Ludo Bagman announced the start of the First Task with a booming voice.

 _Wow, that is a lot of people,_ Cedric Diggory thought. The boy was very scared, but put on a brave face. He couldn't afford to be distracted, his life literally depended on it. Nerves fueled his steps toward the arena entrance, and an increasingly fast heartbeat electrified his bones. Adrenaline coursing through his veins was both exciting yet terrifying.

As he stepped out from the shadows, and into the light, he felt hypnotized by the cheering crowd.

 _DIG-GO-RY! DIG-GO-RY!_

As a Huffluepuff, glory was rare. Watching a few hundred students cheering him on was glorious, and though he didn't want to admit it, it drastically inflated his ego.

But ego was useless, especially when he came face to face with a dragon. A 80-foot dragon stood before him, with eyes so menacing he was temporarily paralyzed in fear.

The crowd's cheers drowned out as the dragon's nostrils flared, smoke coming out. His knees trembled, his feet were frozen in place. Every sensible part of him told him to run in terror, but the brave part of his brain commanded him to do the spell.

He was _not_ gonna die today.

He was gonna win that Quadwizard Cup. For Hogwarts, for Hufflepuff, for himself.

Cedric raised his wand with newfound determination at the nearest rock.

.oOo.

Inside the tent, everyone could hear a very vague commentary from Ludo Bagman. He never mentions _what_ happens, but adds a few _vague_ comments. Though his comments were a big indication of the danger out there in the arena.

"Brilliant move by Diggory!"

"My! That was close!"

"Aaand the dragon sees him—wow, would you look at that!" A large angry roar resounded, sending a shiver down Harry's spine, and a strong vibration through the floor, like a tiny earthquake. Harry was scared, and a nagging feeling told him that his Summoning Charm would fail, and he would die.

Which of course, is unlikely. Charlie Weasley was out there, waiting to catch dragons if things got out of hand. Charlie wouldn't let him die; he can't.

Weasley reminded Harry of Ron, which sent a feeling of anger to wash over the wizard. Ron was just infuriating. After years of friendship, Ron still didn't _trust_ him enough.

Harry stared at the replica on his palm, and looked over to Percy. Percy looked at ease with the whole situation. He was lying on his back, absentmindedly shooting water at the ceiling with his wand.

He was casting non-verbal spells. From what Harry has heard from Hermione, the wizarding world in America was nearly discovered a few times in the twentieth century, so they took precautions (such as only using nonverbal spells) to avoid discovery, which have developed into irreversible habits.

Harry didn't like that. It meant that Percy could hit him with almost any spell and Harry would be none the wiser. Though Sirius truly suspected Karkaroff, Harry didn't want to completely rule out Percy as a possibility just yet. Maybe they worked together.

The small Hungarian Horntail replica on Harry's palm pranced around arrogantly. It looked intimidating, despite its small size. With all the sharp horns it had on its body, and patterned spewing of flames, Harry couldn't have gotten a more dangerous dragon.

Its beady eyes stared up at Harry, taunting him even more than Malfoy ever could, as if the dragon knew things Harry didn't. Harry was always shrouded in mysteries, he was tired of being skeptical of everything.

Soon, Fleur was up. Slightly trembling, she walked towards the arena entrance. Her usual graceful manner still intact.

Next was Viktor Krum, who had finished faster than the others. Bagman seemed particularly excited for his turn.

"Thanks for the tip, Harry." Percy told him in a whisper.

Harry glanced at him, confused. "You know, the note you left on Annabeth's door."

Crap, he put it in the wrong place?

"It was only fair," Harry replied dismissively.

"Yeah, but you just saved my life." Percy said, just before his name was called.

"Oh, gotta go." Percy said.

"Good luck," Harry instinctively called after him. Percy was pleasant as always, making Harry doubt that Percy could actually be plotting to kill him. He doesn't seem like the type. But then again, so was Professor Quirrell.

"You too!" Percy half yelled to Harry.

When Percy was called, Harry saw for the first time, the solemn look on his face. As if he knew he couldn't defeat the dragon.

Percy had his doubts. After all, it wasn't everyday that he fought a dragon. A Norwegian Ridgeback, as Ludo had called it.

As Percy stepped out into the light, the cheers fell deaf to his ears as he met the eyes of the dragon.

A familiar rush of adrenaline flowed through him, powered by ADHD and fear of a big-ass dragon running towards him.

Its beady eyes observed him almost intelligently. Under its butt, just a hundred and fifty feet away, was the glimmering golden egg. It was pretty small, much smaller than Percy expected. It was about the size of a newborn baby.

Unfortunately, the dragon was big, bigger than Percy expected. The replica was definitely _not_ to scale.

Meeting the eyes of the dragon was almost enough to paralyze him.

And when it roared? Gods of Olympus, he was so screwed. Dragon breath was absolutely horrible. It was so bad that Percy almost fainted. These dragons should really learn about a toothbrush.

Luckily, he had sailed through the sea of monsters, so he was considerably braver than most.

In this arena, he didn't have his sword. He was on foreign territory, fighting a foreign dragon, in a foreign timeline, with a foreign weapon.

Suddenly, he was twelve again, fighting off the Minotaur. He was scared, and not quite sure what to do. He was lost and alone.

Percy had accidentally dozed off when Annabeth explained the plan this morning. He needed to improvise, and fast. He was only mortal. With a dragon running towards him at two hundred miles per hour, he knew he could not outrun it.

He would feel much better with his sword in hand, at least it provided a sense of familiarity.

But even if he _had_ his sword, it would be pointless. Celestial Bronze or not, it can't penetrate through the dragon's thick scales.

He had to find a weak spot.

Percy thought of what Bagman had said to describe the dragon.

 _Eats sea creatures, like dolphins._

Okay, that caould be helpful. The dragon began to slowly edge towards Percy, as if in a trance.

It sniffed the air, and walked closer and closer to Percy.

Oh right, Percy smelled like the sea.

Percy desperately racked his brain, remembering how he defeated the Naemean Lion. Impenetrable fur, weakness is the mouth.

He had to lure the dragon in some way, preferrably away from both him _and_ the egg.

He pointed at the nearest rock, transfiguring it into a small whale, and with great concentration, he lifted it high with magic. He controlled it with difficulty, it was really big and heavy.

He needed the dragon away from him, and away from the egg.

The large floating whale caught the dragon's attention, and the dragon diverted its gaze and snapped out its mouth, trying to get a bite of the whale.

Eventually, Percy moved the whale far enough to interest the dragon, but never close enough for it to actually get it. It followed the whale, and while Percy kept it up, as he scaled over the rocks towards the egg.

Multitasking was especially hard with ADHD.

It was easily one of the most dangerous things he's done.

The whale was wailing in fear, a sound loud enough for Percy to hear and understand.

It was going through an identity crisis, and that made Percy feel kinda guilty.

It was hilarious now, but at that time, the situation was terrifying.

Percy was getting tired, but he sped up his pace. Eventually, he reached the egg and grabbed it.

He moved the whale to be directly above the awaiting dragon, and transfigured it back to a large rock just as the dragon jumped, snapping its large jaw.

The jump sent an intense vibration through the floor, strong enough to knock Percy off his balance. The large rock fell on the dragon's head, making the beast collapse, and but left Percy hanging by an arm.

Percy has never been so thankful for Camp Half-Blood's intense training. Years of climbing the lava wall has made him really fast at rock climbing.

Soon, he slipped into the exit, and Bagman concluded his commentary. "Astounding! What a clever twist to Diggory's style! And that stellar rock climbin, absolutely astounding!"

"Let's see what the judges would say." Bagman announced.

"Percy, that was amazing!" Annabeth said. "It's much better than what I suggested this morning."

"Yeah, I survived!" Percy said happily.

Leo walked close to Percy, patted his shoulder, and pointed at the panel of judges. "Look, dude."

They each raised their wands towards the sky, and shot a spell. An emitted blast of silver from each judge displayed a single number like fireworks on Independence Day.

Dumbledore gave a 9.

Maxime gave an 8.

Karkaroff gave a 4.

Bagman gave a 10.

Crouch gave a 7.

"Is that high?" Percy asked.

"No idea," Piper grinned. "But that was cool!"

Annabeth squinted. "It's kinda close with Krum, but yours is a bit lower, I think."

Leo frowned. "Hey, that grumpy Russian dude is biased! He gave Krum a 10!"

Percy waved him off. "I survived. That's all I really care about."

"Well, Harry's next," Nico pulled out a ziplock of ambrosia squares. "You better eat this. Seems like you got bruised from that fall."

"Will is rubbing off on you," Percy grinned at Nico as he ate the squares.

"Oh fuck off." Nico growled. It was true, but he wasn't gonna admit it, no way in Hades.

"Let's sit," Piper said, accidentally using charmspeak. "I wanna watch Harry."


	13. IMPROVEMENT

**_This is not an update. _**

**So, anyway.**

 **Recently I've been rereading it, and I think this story needs more depth. So in the next few days I'll be revising chapter one to ten.**

 **I won't make any MAJOR changes, but I'll just make the story have more meaning, and make things more realistic.**

 **ALSO.**

 **In Chapter nine, I'm not sure why, but the lower part is centered, even if I edited it out multiple times, it simply won't change. (Thanks for pointing that out!)**

 **And I will be editing Truth Unveiled as well.**

 **So for the next two weeks, I'll be making previous chapters longer, and enriching the story.**

 **Also, thoughts on the Truth Unveiled? Suggestions? Feel free to PM me or leave a review!**

 **-FieryBallofCrap**


	14. 12: Surprises

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS:**

Jul 26 _c11_ _JazzGirl123I really like your story! I was just thinking that maybe for the Yule Ball,you can invite people from outside so Jason can be Piper's date! I just ship Jasper!_

 ** _Sorry, but they're in different timelines. It wouldn't make sense to bring Jason to the past, since Jason has...things to do. And Hecate doesn't really care about stuff like this._**

To all those who commented about my other story:

 ** _It's up! It's titled Truth Unveiled. I really hope you read it, but I especially hope that you enjoy it._**

Nico watched from the stands as Harry came into view. The whole stadium shouted and cheered, either for Harry or the dragon, Nico wasn't sure.

He watched intently, keeping a close eye on Harry's lifeline. The task was very dangerous, and from what Percy said, Harry got the most dangerous dragon. Nico was ready to shadow-travel down there at any moment, to save Harry when needed.

They had all agreed beforehand that keeping Harry and Neville alive was more important than their secret. The death of either could drastically alter the future—something they would _not_ want to handle.

Harry raised his wand, and with much dignity and clarity, cast a spell. " _Accio Firebolt!"_

Nico knew from Camp Jupiter's Latin class that he just shouted. _"Summon Firebolt!"_

Nico gripped his seat. _Firebolt? Was it dangerous? What is a Firebolt? Is it lightning and fire?_

A million questions confused him, but he kept his eye on the wizard boy.

Harry's glasses slid down the bridge of his nose as he nervously awaited his broom. The spell had to work, his life depended on it.

The dragon was glaring at him and starting to advance, and Harry was frozen in place, paralyzed with fear.

Self doubt mixed with fear clouded his thoughts—a deadly combination.

The dragon was about thirty feet away when the Firebolt smacked Harry on the arm.

Instantly, Harry sobered up, mounted his broom, and kicked off the ground.

He suddenly felt in control—this was the sky, his territory. If he was good at anything, it would be flying.

He expertly flew, avoiding the dragon with such grace that even Viktor Krum was impressed.

 _Diversionary tactics_ , he chanted to himself like a mantra.

He flew high and low, left and right, north and south, east and west. In short, he was going so fast, he was _everywhere._

Nico watched in amazement and shock as Harry single-handledly stole a dragon's egg by on a broom.

It was fast. It was faster than all the champions. And the stunts he pulled? They all looked so effortless, but he had no doubt that it was all very difficult.

Nico's heartbeat increased watching Harry. There were hundreds of times he could have died. Going that fast, making those almost 90 turns, and that grab for the golden egg, broke the laws of Physics.

It was obvious that he didn't need any help. He was managing well on his own.

Nico watched as Harry walked to the entrance, where his professors were waiting. The deafening cheers of the crowd was overwhelming, all the positive energy couldn't be balanced by the negative energy let out by the Slytherins.

Harry followed Professor McGonagall's intrustions, and went to the infirmary.

Upon entering, he met Hermione. Hermione greeted him with congratulations, but the feeling was nothing compared to when Ron showed the slightest bit of support.

"I reckon someone is trying to set you up," Ron said in a small voice. After all, it was quite humiliating to admit being wrong.

And just like that, a month of bitterness and resentment evaporated, replaced with the power of true friendship and trust.

"Caught on, have you?" Harry said coldly, pretending to be mad.

Ron shuffled on his feet nervously. He had expected, and feared this, Harry was still angry. Harry put his arm around his best friend.

They laughed, and all was right in the world.

At least it was for a few seconds.

Nico entered the infirmary followed by Leo and Piper. They met Harry, who looked at Nico curiously. He was with Hermione and a boy with red hair.

The boy with red hair sent him a terrified yet hateful glace, and quickly averted his eyes. Nico saw it, but didn't think much of it.

With his usual all black attire and ever present scowl, he was scary. Nervous looks and hateful glances were part of Nico Di Angelo's everyday life.

They reached the other room, where Percy was.

"He survived," Nico reported as he entered. "Just a small cut on his shoulder."

Percy's lips formed a barely visible smile. He couldn't go see Harry, but based on Bagman's comentary, it was nothing short of legendary.

"How'd he do it?" Annabeth inquired.

"Well," Leo began, and along with Piper and Nico, he recounted the story for Annabeth and Percy, who listened with slight disinterest.

For Percy it didn't matter _how_ Harry survived, what mattered was that he _did._

From the events of the past month, Percy considered Harry as an ally of some sort. Not a friend, but someone he could trust.

In more ways than one, they were similar. Thrown into a situation they didn't anticipate nor want to be in.

Harry sat on the bed, and stared up at Ron, and felt at ease for the first time in weeks. He had his best friend back, and he had just survived a hundred foot dangerous fire-breathing, thorn-covered dragon, and it made him happier than anything.

Ron's face was both serious, and nervous. He kept glancing at the door the Americans went in. It was a large contrast to how he usually acted—jokey and slightly overconfident.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked Ron. Despite the time apart, they could still read each other like an open book.

"It's...it's that boy with black hair," Ron said nervously. "I-I think he's a Death Eater!"

His tone held the usual amount of accusation, but it was overpowered by nervousness. That was weird. Ron was never nervous when accusing, he was always firm and filled with righteous anger.

"Why so?" Hermione asked, the word _Death Eater had_ caught her attention.

With the Americans constantly being suspected as Death Eaters, she knew more than anything, how paranoid Ron and Harry would be.

Admittedly, she was just as paranoid, but they were usually right in their hypotheses.

Perhaps they were correct about this one too.

She didn't doubt Ron as he recounted what he saw in the hallway before the Selection of Champions, no matter how impossible it sounded.

Apparently, Nico was talking to the Bloody Baron, and threatening him in some way—making the ghost's form flicker a few times.

Hermione stuck a mental note in her brain to visit the library later, the Restricted Section.

Harry stared at Hermione, expecting a ' _you were right,'_ or even a _'they are trying to kill Harry!',_ but he didn't get one.

Instead, Hermione asked to borrow his Invisibility Cloak.

"Why?" Harry asked her. He would lend it to her no matter the purpose, but he wanted to know.

"I'm going to the Restricted section of the library later," she said. "Research purposes."

Research purposes was like a code name for them. It meant non-school related research, Hermione's favorite kind of research.

"Let's grab it from Gryffindor Tower." Harry said, not caring that he hasn't been discharged from the infirmary yet. But his wound was rapidly closing, and healing itself, so he assumed that he could.

The trio walked into the Gryffindor Common Room, Ron and Harry chatting about the past month.

They climbed into the hole, and were surprised to see that a party had been set up for Harry's success.

Everyone wanted to talk to Harry, to congratulate him and ask about the golden egg.

It was supposed to be his night of glory and celebration, but Harry's mind was elsewhere—in the Restricted Section of the Library.

Soon, the Gryffindors were all huddled up, pressuring him into opening the egg.

"Open it! Open it!" They chanted loudly.

Harry unclasped the latch, giving in to the pressure of a chanting crowd. The sides of the shell fell, and an ear-piercing scream filled the air. It was horribly high pitched, making everyone instinctively cover their ears. Whatever it was, it was _horrible._

Chaos fell over the room, many fell to the floor, many tried to run. Harry closed it in panic.

Everyone lost interest after that. They all seprated into their respective dorms, leaving Ron, Harry, and Hermione alone in the Common Room.

Ron had discreetly taken the Invisibility Cloak from the dorms. Harry couldn't escape, but it was easy for Ron to.

Of course, it was way after curfew by now, nearing the morning. Nevertheless, the three draped the cloak over themselves and proceeded to the Library, narrowly avoiding running into Professor Snape and Filch.

The restricted section of the library was forbidden to students, but not to demigods.

Annabeth Chase was personally given permission by Dumbledore to go in the Restricted Section, with only one condition: she couldn't be seen.

Luckily, she had brought her trusty Yankees cap of invisibility. She had a vast knowledge in mythology, but she couldn't recall any story about time travel, or magical golden eggs.

She borrowed a dusty book about the Titans, a very _detailed_ history of the Golden Age. She hoped it had stories about Kronos controlling time, but so far, she had no luck.

She moved her Celestial Bronze knife to the next page of the book, using it for illumination.

The Bronze knife was a gift from Athena, an intellectual weapon for an intellectual girl. In many ways, it was like Katopris, less for combat, more for other purposes. Annabeth had no idea what it could do, and Athena refused to tell her.

She hoped it was nothing like the Mark of Athena coin, she was done with solo death quests. Or any type of quest.

The distant creak of the library door being opened caught her attention. She frantically shoved the invisibility cap over her head. If she was going to get caught, she wasn't going to be identified.

She disappeared, along with her bronze knife.

She glanced down at her fingers. They were almost invisible, slightly noticeable if you looked hard enough.

It sent a shock of fear through her spine, and she stifled a scream. It was as if the cap was losing its magic all over again.

" _Alohamora,"_ she heard a familiar voice say. The door of the Restricted section swang open. There was nothing.

Annabeth squinted, afraid she was loosing her mind. But there was nothing by the door.

"Blimey, that was close," Ron said, stepping out of the Invisibility Cloak.

"Be more careful," Hermione scolded him, exiting the cloak herself.

"Let's just find a book," Harry told them before a fight could break out.

Footsteps followed, and soon, Annabeth heard a voice right behind her.

"Harry, 'Mione, look!" Ron said. "This book is open!"

Annabeth's heartbeat raced, so quick that a heart attack was possible as Hermione walked over to her and the book.

"That's weird." Hermione said. "Restricted books return themselves. The only way a book could be open is if..."

Hermione trailed off, hit with a sudden realization and feeling of panic.

"...someone is using it."

 ** _Hello! I'm BACK._**

 ** _I'm so sorry for not updating for almost a MONTH._**

 ** _I failed getting into a writing program I really wanted, so I felt really bad and uninspired lately. I felt like my writing wasn't good enough. Basically, like absolute crap._**

 ** _I almost deleted the story, but I saw the Follows and Favorites and Reviews and realized that it was more important that I wanted to write than it was important that I was good at it. I could always improve writing later._**

 ** _Anyway, I wrote this chapter and revised it a LOT, because I'm paranoid that it's absolute crap._**

 ** _I KNOW there's always room for improvement, but I'm pretty happy with how this chapter turned out._**

 ** _THANKS FOR THE FOLLOWS. Like THAT MUCH? IN TWO MONTHS? THANK YOU. 113 Follows. THAT'S A LOT._**

 ** _THANK YOU FOR THE FAVORITES. Over FIFTY? I did not have much expectations for this book. I just wanted to write something different yet cliché (is that a thing?)._**

 ** _And REVIEWS. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE POSITIVE REVIEWS. I try my best to make the characters similar to canon, so it feels really nice to know that I'm doing well in that. I'll try to respond to reviews._**


	15. 13: Bad Luck, Good Luck

Hermione looked at Ron and Harry. "If there's no one here, and the book is out..."

"Someone else is here," Harry finished.

The Restricted Section was known to have many books about the dark arts. If anyone was here, it would likely be a Dark wizard.

"Show yourself!" Harry demanded fearlessly.

Annabeth, who was trapped between the three, felt her heart race in anticipation. It was so intense and loud that she worried that they could hear it.

Annabeth has been in hundreds of very compromising situations. But this was new, and she was _very_ close to getting discovered.

How could they have guessed that she was wearing

Ron scratched his head. "Maybe he went to the restroom."

"Or maybe he's invisible," Harry offered, raising his Invisibility Cloak.

It made sense. How else could anyone sneak into the library this late unnoticed?

"Let's leave," Hermione said. "Come back tomorrow."

Harry and Ron looked at her quizzically, but followed her anyway. Harry grabbed the book before they left.

It was the only clue they had of the other being in the room.

As they closed the door of the Restricted Section, and left the library, the three were dead silent.

They worked like a well oiled machine, they each knew what to do, so the reached the Gryffindor Tower almost immediately. For some reason, Hermione was in a hurry.

Annabeth, still in the library, let out a shaky breath. She couldn't be seen in the darkness, but if it was the morning...then she would have been seen right away.

It was pure luck that she wasn't found.

But luck was uncommon for demigods, so she knew that she had to find a solution, and fast.

Now that the Harry, Ron, and Hermione were gone, she had the library completely to herself again.

She grabbed another book that seemed fit for her research.

She had initially thought that it was usual for Greek Mythology to be stored in the Restricted Section. After reading a few chapters, she noticed the presence of dark magic in her history.

Ironically, the book said that dark magic was an important force that made the world work.

She needed to get that Titan Book back.

.oOo.

Ron, Hermione and Harry quickly went to the Gryffindor Tower Common Room.

This wasn't the first time they snuck out, so it was no surprise that the were unworried about getting caught.

Ron and Harry plopped on a nearby couch.

"Harry, get the Marauder's Map." Hermione demanded with authority while her brain paced.

Harry grabbed the map from his dorm, careful not to wake his roomates.

"Let's see where Karakoff is off to," Hermione said.

"Brilliant!" Ron said as Harry chanted the password; _I solemnly swear I am up to no good_.

The map appeared before them. It held a complete map of Hogwarts, along with the names of all its occupants where they are.

The three looked at the library trying to see the name Karakoff.

Instead they were surprised with a different name in the Restricted Section:

 _Annabeth Chase._

Hermione gasped in surprise.

Okay, that was not expected. Hermione had always assumed that Annabeth stayed with Percy, clueless of his true colors and bad intentions.

Clearly, Hermione was wrong. Ananbeth was just as involved as Percy and Nico.

They were all possibly Death Eaters.

Hermione looked at Percy and Nico's name in a corridor close to the Hospital Wing. Their names were still, unmoving.

It was safe to assume that they were asleep.

"This is brilliant and all," Harry said. "But why didn't we just catch her right then?"

Harry had a point, but at that time, they were clueless about the Invisible Girl's identity.

Hermione knew that Annabeth was smart beyond belief. She was both observant yet analytical, a deadly combination.

Hermione knew that Annabeth's mental prowess either equaled or _exeeded_ hers.

It was simply luck that Hermione decided to avoid confrontation.

And it bothered her that it was simply a gut feeling, because instincts aren't very reliable.

"We must avoid confrontation," Hermione said. "If the Americans know that we're wary of them...they'll close themselves off."

"Brilliant as always, 'Mione. But please. Let's go to _bed_ ," Ron said, yawning. Despite the excitement of the recent events, he was still only mortal, and he was still exhausted.

At the mention of sleep, Harry and Hermione's bodies responded by being overwhelmed with tiredness. Their eyes dropped, and their bodies suddenly felt very heavy.

"We'll deal with this in the morning, 'Mione," Ron pleaded. "Let's sleep."

"Of course," Hermione said, her eyes dropping.

.oOo.

Percy was having a good morning. He had woken up earlier than the alarm, had warm pancakes for breakfast, and even got to speak to the Giant Squid in the Lake (who was _very_ helpful, by the way).

The only thing missing was an Annabeth Chase and his day would be complete.

But since Percy knew that Annabeth was in research mode, he knew that she wouldn't mind him even if he set himself on fire and ran around her with neon lights.

Annabeth's concentration and dedication to research was absolutely astonishing. She had the ability to close off all outside distractions.

Instead of trying (and failing) to get his girlfriend's attention, Percy decided to take a ride with Blackjack, explore the surroundings a bit more, maybe find a few clues.

Maybe get some doughnuts, which was very likely.

90% of Pegasus rides with Blackjack involved doughnuts.

Percy needed time alone, and _outside_. Being in the small room of the castle all the time was turning Percy a bit claustrophobic.

As an ADHD demigod who was always active, staying indoors felt extremely constricting.

He calmly walked over to Hagrid's Hut. Percy had become friends with Hagrid, who was a son of a Giantess.

Of course, Hagrid kept this a secret. He detested his mother, but unlike Percy, Hagrid never really got to meet her.

Percy decided that if a mortal could find a giantess attractive, then the Mist in this country was _extremely powerful._

"Hey, Hagrid." Percy greeted Hagrid politely, and Hagrid did the same.

"'Ere to ride on yer Pegasus, 'Ercy?" Hagrid chuckled.

"Blackjack!" Percy called, and Blackjack came over almost immediately.

' _Where to, boss?'_ The winged horse asked.

Percy put a hand Blackjack, who whined.

"Around the island," Percy said. "Possibly by the sea."

"'O I wouldn't do 'at if I 'wer ya," Hagrid said. "'Is leg 'is broken."

Percy's head snapped to observe Blackjack's leg.

"What?" Percy cried. Blackjack, his pegasus, was injured.

His right front leg was scratched nastily, which made Percy alert in fear of monsters.

" _How?"_ Percy turned to the horse, surprised.

Even Percy wasn't that wounded from the First Task.

' _It was that tree, boss.'_ Blackjack whined. ' _It was a real crazy tree.'_

Percy looked at Blackjack weirdly, who was semi limping.

So let me get this straight," Percy said, rubbing his temples and surpressing a grin. "You got your leg broken _by a tree?"_

"T'was the Whomping Willow," Hagrid said matter-of-factly. "Violent tree, it is."

Percy looked at them weirdly, unsure whether to laugh or not. They were personifying a _tree_ into what sounds like a monster with anger issues. "Okay...thanks...I guess?"

"Can ya fix 'im up?" Hagrid asked hopeyully. "Yer the son of Poseidon and all."

Percy shook his head. "I can't."

He put a comforting hand on BlackJavk's nuzzle. "Maybe next time."

He then walked away, back to the castle. Maybe he could hang out with Piper, Leo, and Neville. It was still early, he could catch Neville before school started for him.

Nico was out on ghost business today, he was roaming Hogwarts to give a certain ' _Peeves'_ a disciplinary lesson.

Unfortunately, Percy was ambushed by a certain disrespectful reporter on his way back.

"Mr. Jackson!" Rita Skeeter smiled almost evilly. "Care for an interview?"

Her teeth were still crooked, and so was she.

She was unlike any good journalist. She witheld the raw truth, and not so subtly incorporated her own opinion into the 'news'. Her articles were far from news, they were propaganda against the British Magical government to make them look like fools.

She thrived on drama, and loved to cause it. It was the foundation of her career.

" _Go away,"_ Percy said, his voice dangerously calm.

It was a calm before the storm type of calm.

Provoke him enough times, and you will definitely _feel the storm_.

"Give me another chance!" Rita said, grabbing onto his arm.

Only _Annabeth_ was allowed to touch his arm.

Percy wiggled his arm free from Skeeter's claws immediately, repulsed.

He glanced at the castle doors up ahead. He had at least thirty seconds before he reached the entrance.

If he sped walked, he would make it in twenty.

"Fine," Percy said, wincing as she stepped on his foot. "You got five minutes."

Skeeter pulled out her quill, ready to conduct another biased and insulting interview.

This action itself took five seconds, so they were now just fifteen seconds away from the door, almost there.

"Ever been heartbroken?" Skeeter asked, her quill and parchment at ready.

"No," Percy replied.

"Percy seems to never have dated a girl," Rita said to the quill, to which Percy glared at her.

"Ever thought that was the reason for your bitterness?" Skeeter asked.

"Oh look," Percy said, grabbing the castle doors. "Five minutes is up."

Percy gritted his teeth, _bitterness?_ He wasn't bitter at all, he was just extremely ticked off.

"But it's only been thirty seconds!" Skeeter exclaimed, oblivious to his annoyance.

"Is it really? Oh, sorry." Percy faked a laugh. "I'm really bad at math."

He went in the castle and slammed the door on Skeeter's stunned face.

Okay, that felt very _therapeutic._

 ** _Hello!_**

 ** _Another Update!! Yay!_**

 ** _So ANYWAY._**

 ** _Thank you for all the support!_**

 ** _The positive feedback has really inspired me to write._**

 ** _I'm sorry if updates take long, but I want to make sure that every scene is perfect, and that there aren't fillers, because every part of the story should be vital and interconnected._**

 ** _Any comments? Suggestions? Leave a review, or PM a request!_**


	16. 14: Dangerous Misunderstandings

**Another update after a really long time.**

 **And just to clarify; I did not read TOA yet.**

 **There's a reason why this fanfic is set before TOA, and after BOO, and that's because I didn't read TOA.**

 **But, I do know that**

 **(SPOILER ALERT)**

 ** _Someone died._ Not sure who though. **

**(SPOILER OVER)**

 **But I'm not really planning to read TOA.**

 **ANYWAY. I hope you will all enjoy this chapter, it's one of my faves.**

 **Dedicated to all those I always see in the reviews section; TheGoodeRavenclaw, Jazzgirl123, Okurdek, and those who don't log in but I see anyway.**

 **Here it is:**

Piper and Leo were walking around Hogwarts, exploring the halls and catching up on each other's lives.

Leo barely had time to settle in Camp before Hecate called his go to this super important quest.

Piper and Leo haven't really had the time to talk.

"So how are things with Jason?" Leo asked Piper.

From what he understood, Piper was secretly mad that Jason didn't send her off to the London quest. Jason was in Rome, in an business meeting with Reyna about Kympoleia dolls.

The fact that he was with Reyna, a girl who had liked him previously, definitely did not help matters.

Piper scowled. "Nothing is going on."

Leo cringed at the bitterness in her voice. If Jason wanted to keep Piper, he was going to have to step up his game.

Her tone made him uneasy. It was just so hostile, so unPiper.

Leo looked at his watch, realizing that they had twenty minutes before the weekly meeting. If they wanted to make it, they had to go to the dorms now.

Leo looked around, realizing that they were lost. The walls were older, the floors were more uneven, made of stone.

Piper thought about her relationship with Jason. With him constantly gone, it was practically nonexistent at this point.

Whether she should continue it or break it off was a debate she had with herself everyday.

He was constantly absent, leaving Piper to always be alone.

He missed their plans, and it made Piper mad. He would apologize and repeat.

It was turning into a toxic relationship, and it didn't make Piper happy anymore.

"Where are we?" Leo asked, interrupting Piper's thoughts.

"I don't know," Piper said, looking around, realizing that they were hopelessly lost.

A few torches on the wall illuminated the corridor ever so slightly. She noticed the unfamiliar hallways to be stonier than usual. She felt overwhelmed as she looked at both ways of the corridor that seemed to extend endlessly.

The only thing she could see in the slight illumination was a door a few feet away.

She approached it, Leo trailing behind her.

Leo's finger burst into tiny flames, just as it did whenever he got nervous. He had done it once in the Dining Hall, during the choosing of the champions, but thankfully no one noticed.

The small door was brown and small. It had no doorknob. Instead, it had a pear where the doorknob should have been.

Piper was accustomed to the weird quirks of the Hogwarts castle by now, and she knew that an unusual doorknobs was probably the least unusual part of the Hogwarts castle.

After all, it was magical.

She reluctantly touched the pear, trying to open the door.

The pear giggled, startling Piper and Leo. The door creaked open, revealing a room full of elf-like creatures.

Piper yelped in surprise, catching the attention of a few nearby house-elves.

They had arrived into the kitchen.

The creatures all had very monster-like features. Their large eyes were anime-like, their ears pointy and unusually large. Their skin was pale and leathery, and they were so skinny that you could see their bones through their skin.

She had no doubt that they were monsters.

Out of habit, she got ready to defend herself if needed.

Piper unsheathed Katopris as Leo's hand instinctively found its way to his magical tool belt.

An elf tapped Piper's back, offering blueberry muffins.

Piper jumped into a fighting stance, raising Katopris against the elf in surprise. The elf yelped in surprised fear, sheilding its shriveled face.

Something made her feel very jumpy and unsettled, but she couldn't tell what.

At that exact moment, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley burst into the door, led by a house-elf. An unfortunate timing, perhaps a cruel joke from the fates.

Upon seeing this, Hermione exploded in just rage. Going against a poor defenseless house-elf? That was just evil and very Death Eater.

And it truly seemed that way. Piper's dagger was raised as a small house elf cowered in fear, clutching a plate of warm blueberry muffins.

"Stupefy!" Hermione yelled, thrusting a spell to Piper.

Her head whipped to face Hermione, but was too late. The spell hit her on the chest. Her movements stopped, as if in paralysis.

Leo watched in horror, frozen on the spot. He didn't know what had happened to Piper, but he could tell that it wasn't good. She had stopped moving, her face was frozen mid-yell.

Leo didn't know if she was dead or not.

Dear gods, don't let her be dead.

He wouldn't be able to handle Piper dead.

"Piper?" Leo said. There was no answer—she was completely frozen in place.

All his otheremotions went silent, as a single feeling of blinding rage overcame him. He had no idea what he was doing, the only thing he knew was that his best friend could be _dead_.

And with all the loss he had experienced in his life, he couldn't handle that right now.

His left hand caught on fire. His body worked on autopilot, controlled by the drive for revenge, and an instinctive need to defend his friend.

He shot blasts of fireballs, accurate as they are lethal. House-elves ran and hid, terrified of him.

Harry barely dodged a fireball, but failed to dodge the next. The scorching hot fire grazed his skin, searing a hole into his robes. He screamed in pain, and reached for his wand.

He tried to delfect it with a spell, but the fireball passed straight through his magical shield and scorched his wand arm.

It was impossible.

The only thing racing through his mind was survival.

They needed Dumbledore, now.

He clutched his burnt arm and ducked behind a table and scanned the room for Ron and Hermione. Leo shot an seemingly endless supply of fireballs, while Piper stood, still frozen.

Ron had grabbed a wooden chopping board, and was using it as a shield. The chopping board caught on fire as Leo hit it with a deadly accurate fireball. Ron yelled in panic and threw the chopping board to the ground, ducking behind a counter.

Ron clearly needed a lesson in thermodynamics.

Hermione gathered the House-elves in a corner as Ron made himself a target.

It was truly disastrous.

Ron looked around desperately, realizing he was out of options.

He was about to be scorched.

From far away, Harry couldn't see Leo's wand, but he assumed that it was on Leo's left. Harry desperately raised his wand, flinching at the pain of his burn arm.

"Expelliarmus!"

A jet of scarlet light moved across the room, and almost hitting Leo in the face. With a burnt arm, it was a pretty good, but it wasn't good enough.

It missed, and Leo turned to face Harry.

Leo shot a large fireball towards Harry, who jumped out of the way.

"Expelliarmus!" Ron yelled. A jet of scarlet light hit Leo, but nothing happened.

The spell should have expelled the wand from Leo's grip, but it didn't.

Harry looked closer into Leo's hand, realizing something.

There wasn't a wand in sight.

Leo was doing it all _wandless_.

They raised their wand, about to attack again, when a loud voice stopped them.

"Stop!" Piper charmspoke, adding a lot of charmspeak into her words.

She had been unfrozen.

Movement in the room froze as attention was directed to the horrified daughter of Aphrodite.

Hermione snapped out of her daze. She grabbed her wand, and put out a fire. "Aguamenti!"

Filch, the caretaker frantically entered the room. He took one look into the room, and at the triumphant face of the three wizards before sending them three, along with Piper and Leo to the Hospital wing.

.oOo.

"What the _fuck_ happened?" Percy says, having adapted to normal swearing.

He was seething with rage. He didn't know what was worse, the scorch marks on Harry's robes, or the guilty look Leo gave him.

Annabeth put an arm on Percy's chest, visibly calming him down.

"Percy," she soothed.

The doors opened dramatically as the Headmaster entered the infirmary, followed by a scowling son of Hades.

Nico's Stygian Iron sword hung from his waist, he had forgotten to hide it in the dorm.

"What happened?" Dumbledore asked blankly.

"Professor, those _Americans—"_ Hermione said with a large amount of distaste and anger. "—were threatening a House Elf!!"

"I saw it Professor," Harry said. "They can't be trusted."

"And did _you_ see them personally threaten the elf?" Annabeth interrupted.

"Yes," Hermione said, matter of factly.

Her eyes met Annabeth's, glaring at her with superiority.

This, of course, triggers Annabeth to go against Hermione.

Hubris was her fatal flaw. How could she not?

"Oh, really?" Annabeth challenged. "Care to elaborate? How _exactly_ did you see Piper threaten the house elf?"

Annabeth motioned air quotes with her fingers as she said 'threaten', knowing it would royally piss off Hermione.

She was as irrational as Hermione was, blinded with her pride.

Filled with rage, Hermione took the bait.

"I saw her raising a knife to the elf." Hermione said smugly.

"And did you see what happened before that?" Annabeth interrupted, even more smug than Hermione.

"No, but if you see how she held the knife—"

"Oh, so it's an assumption? Didn't you just say that you _saw_ it?"

"Anyone would do the same! Except maybe you, you don't seem to know the first thing about magic."

"While your old fashioned school taught waving magic sticks, I learned the science of magic itself. Can _you_ do wandless magic?"

Hermione was at a loss for words. Science of magic...she didn't even know that existed.

"You're just a bunch of _Death Eaters_." Ron accused, having a surge of courage to defend Hermione.

" _Death Eaters?"_ Percy said dangerously. He had no idea what it was, but the way Ron said it was just insulting.

"I'll show you a _Death Eater_ you little—"

"Stop," Piper said, using charmspeak.

Everyone looked at her.

In confusion.

In hatred.

In surprise.

"Just stop it."

"Harry, Ron, Hermione," Dumbledore says. "If you feel well enough, may I have a word?"

"We'll leave," Leo says, wanting to escape the tense atmosphere as guilt settled in his system.

The five demigods left, with Percy sending his scariest glare to Ron before they left.

Percy made it a point to slam the hospital door as hard as he could.

Dumbledore massaged his heard in frustration.

"Can you three just...not?" Dumbledore said.

It was the first time Dumbledore told them this.

He had previously always indirectly,

or implied to go solve mysteries. It was unusual for him to say otherwise.

"But Professor, we saw her hold a knife to the—"

"And what did you see, Ms. Granger?" Dumbledore said. "As Annabeth said, didn't you simply jump into a conclusion?"

"But Professor," Ron said. "We saw that pale boy with dark hair talking threatening the Bloody—

"Stay away from them." Dumbledore's eyes held worry. "They're more dangerous than anything you've ever faced."

"Even more than Vodemort?" Harry asked.

The Headmater hesitated, refusing to meet their eyes.

"Yes."

 **WHEW.**

 **It's been more than a month and I am _so sorry_. **

**I have at least six different versions of this chapter—five were scrapped.**

 **It's hard, with so much tension in every scene.**

 **Also, school has been especially hectic. Exams just finished so I'm writing again (yay!).**

 **Anyway. Thanks for all the follows,** **reviews and favorites.**

 **Seriously, thanks a ton.**

 **Don't forget to FOLLOW, FAVORITE, and REVIEW.**


	17. 15: Exposure

**Replies to comments:**

 ** _TinyFox2 c10_**

 ** _The way he was very secretive, and stayed mostly with the demigods.Shouldn't that be (see below) since it's Harry's POV?The way he was very secretive, and stayed mostly with the other Amerneo students._**

 **Oh right, completely missed that. Thanks for pointing it out! I've fixed it to say Americans instead of Amerneo Students.**

 _TinyFox2 c16_

 ** _Wait, why is Dumbledore telling them to stay away when he could just spin a half-truth like, "They've never seen a house-elf before, bla bla bla," Apart from that, I really like this. Also, just remembered, if Snape's a legacy of Hades, doesn't that make Nico his great idk uncle?_**

 **I've thought of Dumbledore giving out the half-truth. But there is no half-truth that could explain Piper's behavior. Saying that they've never seen a house-elf would make the trio more suspicious, since Hermione probably studied up on House Elves already and know they also exist in the States.**

 **Anyway, thank for all the reviews! For that, here's another update:**

The air was hostile and tense as Annabeth paced around a circle, muttering to herself.

Piper and Leo looked down at the floor guiltily, completely blaming themselves for the recent events.

"The nerve of that—" Annabeth ranted, stopping midway and letting out a frustrated scream.

Nico spoke up, a solemn expression on his face. He was eager to ease the tension and to get some answers.

"What happened?" His gaze drifted over to Piper and Leo, serious but not accusatory.

One sentence was enough to break the dam Piper held in.

There was only so much emotional trauma a girl could take in one day.

So far, she had been;

One, reminded of her dying relationship.

Two, been accused of a terrible crime she did _not_ commit.

And three, hit by a spell of paralysis.

She shuddered as she remembered the feeling. Unable to move, the feeling of being completely trapped and powerless—it wasn't pleasant.

Piper wiped a stubborn tear from her cheek, and faced Nico with determination.

With a shaky voice and the heavy weight of guilt, Piper explained what had happened. Leo occasionally chipped in information, but turned silent as Piper described how Leo flipped out.

"I think I can still fix this," Annabeth rambled. "We can make up an excuse—any good excuse."

"Like what?" Leo asked desperately.

He also wanted to fix it.

Annabeth stared blankly at the wall, briefly thinking. "Childhood trauma."

"What?" Nico frowned,

"Let's say that Piper had a bad experience with a house-elf before."

"That could work," Piper said. "I might even slip in some charmspeak to convince—"

An urgent knock interrupted the conversation.

Percy, who was nearest to the door, answered it.

It was Professor Dumbledore, with a solemn expression on his face. "May I come in?"

His voice was grave and serious.

Dumbledore walked into the room, taking in the tense athmosphere, and the interested expressions of the demigods.

"I'm afraid that telling Potter, Weasley and Granger your parentage is inevitable," Dumbledore sighed.

The room seemed to tense a bit more. The five demigods shifted in their position, unsure what to feel.

"Are you sure?" Annabeth's intense stare was directed at Dumbledore, making the old man feel uneasy.

"Yes," Dumbledore said without hesitation.

.oOo.

The Yule Ball was the talk of the castle, every single student, teacher, and visitor spoke only about it.

Left and right, people were asking each other out.

Neville Longbottom, a proud Gryffindor, felt jealous of all other students. Especially other Gryffindors.

He watched as Dean Thomas shamelessly asked a girl out.

He so longed for that level of confidence.

He had a girl in mind—a beautiful, kind, smart girl. He seriously hoped he could gain the courage to ask her.

But he hesitated because he couldn't stand putting their friendship on the line, not when everything is going so well.

"Oi Neville," Ron called.

Neville's head turned over to face Ron.

"What do you know about those two Americans you always talk to?" Hermione interrogated.

She searched Neville for any sign of nervousness and discomfort, paranoid that they had been threatening him too.

She was relieved to find none.

"Well, not much really. But I want to ask the girl out, don't get any ideas—" Neville said, his voice rich with conviction.

"Don't ask Piper to the Ball," Harry interrupted.

"Why not?" Neville asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion.

"I reckon she's a Death Eater," Ron accused.

"And _why on Earth_ do you think that?" Neville said, raising his eyebrow.

He refused to believe them without proof.

Sweet and kind Piper was far from being a Death Eater.

Harry recounted the recent events, planning to spread awareness about the danger of Americans.

A thought entered Hermione's head.

Just like that, Hermione knew how to make the story go public.

But she would need Harry to speak to a certain someone he detested.

.oOo.

Rita Skeeter tapped her foot impatiently on the snowy floor. A mysterious note appeared the other day, from none other than Harry Potter, offering a story.

She hoped it was good, because her toes were getting too cold.

She finally spotted him, his mess of a hair appeared, much to her delight.

Her heart raced, excited for the newest story. For once, she wasn't the one asking for an interview.

"Skeeter," Harry said as he reached her hearing range.

"I have one condition—you absolutely _cannot_ mention that _I_ gave you the information."

Skeeter smiled maliciously, making Harry regret it a bit.

 _Everyone needs to know the truth_ , Harry thought, convincing himself that it was a good idea.

Skeeter's eyes glinted with excitement. "Of course."

 **Hello! I know this is really short, but I'll update soon.**

 **Anyway, thanks for ALL the Reviews. I really love them—they're just so positive and empowering.**

 **The next chapter should be up soon, you guys are in for a treat.**


	18. 16: Lies for a Cause

_AMERNEO STUDENTS ATTACK HARRY POTTER, HERMIONE GRANGER AND HOUSE ELEVES_

 _by Rita Skeeter_

 _Once again, the Ministry of Magic has proved its utter incompetence and lack of regard for its citizens' safety._

 _Last week, students from Hogwarts_ , _Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were sent to the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. According to a source, an Amerneo student, Piper MacLean, threatened a small defenseless house-elf with a knife—a rare and unusual form of threatening._

 _Hermione Granger tried to paralyze the attackers but missed. In return, Leo Valdez, another American, retailated by casting deadly fireballs onto her_.

 _Hermione and Harry left injured and in dire need if medical attention. The whole event left the kitchen in chaos, and imprinted fear into the students of Hogwarts._ _One must wonder if the students are truly safe in the school, and if the Ministry would at least consider to disqualify the_ _Americans for their rogue and uncivilized behavior._ _As of now, it is very much unreasonable to doubt that the Amerneo students have sinister plans._

 _With the Yule Ball fast approaching, it is truly worrying to even think that the Americans may make another move to harm the beloved students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

Every word on the accursed newspaper infuriated the girl reading it.

It was a paper of lies that would futher tarnish the possibility of an already very unlikely friendship between Amerneo and Hogwarts, a friendship she so needed to develop.

Her fingers dug into her palm, frustration controlling her actions.

Everytime she thought they were a step closer to developing a friendship, they would be pulled three steps back.

At this rate, they wouldn't be able to accomplish their quest.

Annabeth took three deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling her frustration to clear her head.

As a child of Athena, Annabeth was born with the rare ability to twist most situations into her favor through manipulation and, or deception.

She needed to build a friendship. But after the recent events, she couldn't possibly imagine a genuine one within the next few months.

But it didn't matter whether it was genuine or not. She just needed to get this quest over with, to gain answers so that she could be sent back to the future.

She racked her brain for ways to explain the recent events.

As she got an idea, she gained a new appreciation for Skeeter's article.

The prejudice against the Ministry of Magic and Amerneo was obviously there, but the brief yet very wrong description of what had supposedly happened was also there.

The only people to witness everything were Leo, Piper, and the three.

And Annabeth highly doubted that Leo or Piper would tell Skeeter anything.

There was no doubt that the 'source' was either Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, or Ron Weasley.

Or all three.

If Annabeth could just piece together a fake yet logical explaination for the attacks, she would be able to save a reputation or even build an alliance.

Annabeth grabbed a pen and began to write.

She first needed to stop the wizards from suspecting them.

.oOo.

"Do you believe it?" Harry says, turning his head to face her two best friends, shoving a letter from Annabeth into their faces.

"Seems...unusually humble," Hermione said. "Perhaps we were wrong to assume the worst—"

"Perhaps not—" Ron interrupted, completely convinced the Americans were evil. "You do recall Di Angelo and the Bloody Baron right?"

Ignoring Ron, Hermione grabbed the letter from Harry's hand.

" _We would like to formally apologize for the misunderstanding caused by an accident in our friend Piper's past, it was caused by childhood trauma with a House-Elf_." Hermione read.

"Sounds like a load of dung—I mean if you had a fear, wouldn't you cast a spell? Using a knife like that isn't normal." Ron commented.

Hermione stared blankly at Ron. "Ron, everyone does things differently. Perhaps you would, doesn't mean they would too. And besides, with the combat training that happens in Amerneo, it shouldn't come as a surprise that their reaction to an immediate threat is self defense."

Ron saw her point, it was quite reasonable. But he refused to acknowledge it, because his mind was completely set.

"They'd like to formally apologize over a round of Butterbeer," Harry said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Around now. Should we go?"

"That depends, do you both think the paper is the truth?" Hermione asked.

"Doesn't matter," Harry said. "There will be plenty of witnesses if they try anything."

And so the three trudged up to The Three Broomsticks, wands in hand for protection.

It was obvious that complete trust between both parties would never be accomplished. Even if the whole truth was revealed, it wasn't a guarantee that the three wizards would side with the demigods..

Percy glared at the clock, aware that their three guests were twenty minutes late, if they were even coming.

Annabeth drummed her fingers in anticipation, not knowing what to expect.

Dumbledore had suggested this place, but with its rustic decoration and filthy walls, it didn't look very ideal. But since it was somewhat familiar to the three, Annabeth decided it was best.

They had to set a comfortable environment.

They have gone over the plan multiple times, making sure that they wouldn't have a slip-up. Annabeth had a three step plan they needed to follow. It was constructed with the aid of psychology.

If everything went well, the wizards would have a new perspective of them by noon.

Finally, after what seemed like centuries, Ron, Harry, and Hermione entered the place.

The three did not know what expect.

They surely didn't expect the four Americans smiling at them (Nico didn't smile), especially since it was obvious that they had posted the rumors themselves.

And they surely did not expect the Three Broomsticks to be void of guests. There was only one bartender—a fact that did not ease their anxiousness.

"So," Hermione said, going straight to the point. "Explain."

She forced an edge of intimidation into her voice, a trick that Annabeth did not fail to notice.

Hermione was afraid—terrified and unsure. After all, she was Hermione Granger, the smartest witch of her age. She couldn't show weakness and let her two best friends down. When faced with an unknown threat, the two looked up to the genius.

In some ways, it was quite relatable. Annabeth was the same.

And honestly, it was quite draining.

"Piper is scared of House Elves." Annabeth started her lie.

"I think you've said that on the invite already—" Ron said, his snark showing.

He was only silenced by Percy's infamous wolf glare—a glare so terrifyingly mean that Ron wanted to call for mum.

"Anyway," Annabeth said, almost unfazed. "Pipes here used to go to my house all the time. But at some point a house elf of mine—Arbay—went rogue."

Annabeth put on her best performance.

Scrunching her eyebrows together and twisting her lips, she made a confused yet pained expression.

"What do you mean went rouge?" Hermione asked, standing up. "How could a House Elf possibly—"

Piper buried her head into her arms, laughing silently. But to the wizards, it seeming like she was crying.

"I don't know." Annabeth said, forcing out each word. "But I do know that she was horribly overworked and tortured, my mother did not believe in elf rights—inflicted cruelty onto her everyday."

Annabeth's eyes looked glassy and faraway, a look that garnered the three wizards, even Ron's belief in her story.

Hermione felt compassion and anger for the non-existent House Elf. It must have been extreme cruelty to cause one to break like that.

After all, House Elves were extremely loyal creatures.

"The elf attacked Piper when Piper accidentally spilled a glass of Lemonde into the elf's fresh, open wound." Annabeth patted Piper's laughing frame. "Piper was hospitalized for a week."

Harry winced, imagining the pain of acidic lemonade falling into a fresh, open wound.

Piper, who had cried herself into tears of laughter at Annabeth's excellent performance looked up, pretending to be dead inside (which wasn't very hard).

"I gave Arbay my T-shirt so that my mother couldn't torture her when she got home, and I never saw her again." Annabeth said sadly.

"It truly was a tragedy," Percy said, butting in.

"Gods, that sounded so sarcastic. put more emotion into it, will you?" Nico snorted, making the Americans laugh.

It was step two of the plan—ease the tension with humor.

The trio's anxiety was slightly eased. Harry even cracked a smile.

The smile did not fail to be noticed by Annabeth's observant eye.

Annabeth thanked psychology and all the journals she had read on the science because thank the gods, it was working.

The three were easing up.

They began asking questions, questions all the Americans answered with consistency, weaving a web of intricate lies that showed a picture of innocence to the wizards.

Eventually, the topic of the Yule Ball came up. By then, the conversation had changed from an interrogation to polite yet forced conversation.

"So who is Piper going with?" Harry asked casually, remembering Neville.

Piper's face turned bitter as she remembered Jason. If Jason was here he would be her date, but he simply wasn't.

"No one," Piper said cooly, her face turning cold. "How about you, Hermione, did anyone ask you?"

The question surprised Hermione. She had never exepected to be asked the question—people saw her for her brains, not her beauty.

It was the sole reason no one bothered to ask if she had a date—because they all just assumed she couldn't get one.

"Yes, actually," Hermione replied.

Harry and Ron looked at her in disbelief.

"What?" Harry said at the same time Ron exclaimed "Who would ask you?"

Ron's tone was heavy with disbelief that even Hermione had a date. Looking at the look on Hermione's face upon notcing Ron's tone made Harry worry for the guy.

He had no trouble believing so, Hermione _was_ pretty under all that hair that always covered her whole face.

"Well for your information, Ron Weasley," she said with contempt. "Someone did."

"You can't be serious, Hermione!" Ron laughed disbelievingly, convinced it was a prank.

"And why not? Is it so impossible that you cannot conceive it?" Hermione shot back hotly.

"Stop kidding around, Harry and I know you don't have one—" Ron said.

"I don't need to deal with this," Hermione declared with finality, cutting him off.

Hermione agressively thanked the Americans for the Butterbeer and stormed off in anger.

"Can you even believe her?" Ron asked Harry. "The nerve to storm out like that—who does she think she is?"

"Well," Ron said to the Americans ad he stood up from his chair. "I think Harry and I should go after her."

"Thanks for the Butterbeer," Harry said, waving goodbye.

"It was..." Harry said, looking for the right word. "...nice."

And Harry meant it, he realized with surprise as he ran after Hermione.

He didn't know if it was good or bad.

 ** _Since I now have free time again, you guys can expect more updates. Yay!!_**

 ** _And to apologize for the slow updates, I'll be taking requests._**

 ** _What do you want to see in the Yule Ball?_**

 ** _I'll take suggestions and try my best to incorporate it into the story._**

 ** _So I hope you really enjoyed this chapter, and don't forget to REVIEW, FAVORITE, and FOLLOW!!_**


	19. 17: Confusion

_Come on, Neville._

The boy mentally prepped himself to one of the most terrifying things he'd done so far—asking out a girl.

And it was no ordinary girl—it was Piper McLean.

To Neville, the girl embodied class and grace. Her kind and soft-spoken nature flared up only with strong emotion and deeply contrasted to her warrior-like sense of style.

She was a jewel, a goddess among all.

(Well, he was half right.)

Her beauty was unmatched by any other. With her bright and ever-changing kaleidoscope eyes, Piper stared intently at her task.

Neville wiped his moist palms on his robes as he approached the girl circling his mind.

Each step towards the girl sitting alone in the library was excruciating. His legs felt like jelly, they wanted to collapse.

He had almost backed out multiple times before even taking the first three steps towards her. The only thing keeping him going was Seamus Finnigan's pep talk to him.

 _If you don't ask her, you don't have a chance at all._

Seamus's words echoed through Neville's brain, giving him the temporary burst of courage to actually speak to Piper.

"Hey Pipe," Neville started, his voice surprisingly steady.

His palms had returned to their sweaty state, this time even worse than before. Everything around him felt hot, and Neville knew it wasn't because of the layers of clothes he had on.

"Hm?" Piper replied absentmindedly as she wrote on a piece of parchment. She didn't even look up.

"Would you—" He stopped midsentence, chickening out as anxiety kicked in. "Happen to have seen Trevor?"

 _I can't do it._

 _I can't do it._

 _I can't do it._

Piper looked up from her task with mild interest. "No, I haven't. Sorry."

Neville losing his toad was nothing out of the ordinary and she had absolute faith that Neville would find it soon.

Neville almost retreated, but he saw her right there, looking pretty even as she did absolutely no effort to look attractive.

And it was like an angelic spotlight had been thrown down on her, making even the slightest of her movements seem goddesslike.

He couldn't lose her, not when he actually had the chance to get her. He had gone this far, it would be foolhardy and cowardly to give up _now_.

Neville threw all caution into the wind and impulsively decided to just do it.

He took a deep breath.

"Do you want to go to the Yule Ball with me?" He blurted out, closing his eyes tightly.

Piper stopped writing and stared at her paper.

She was tempted to say yes, she really was. Her pulse quickened as she stared off into space, actually considering it.

Neville _was_ kind and always made her feel special. He paid her so much attention, and she could sense his romantic side.

With him, she wouldn't be neglected.

With him, she would feel special.

She would feel wanted.

Important.

Significant.

 _Loved_.

Things she hadn't felt in a long time with Jason.

Thinking of Jason made a certain bitterness reappear, bitterness that refused to go away. In time it had turned into spite.

"Piper?" Neville said cautiously.

"Yes!" Piper exclaimed.

Neville's eyes lit up brighter than the sun. His lips curved up higher than Piper had ever seen. Even his posture improved a bit.

He looked _so so happy, it was adorable._

"That-that's great!"

"I'll-I'll see you then," The boy exclaimed, stuttering. "In-in a few days."

Neville walked away, almost skipping.

Piper stared blankly ahead. She did not mean to do that genuinely. But now Neville took her answer as her true and real answer, and she felt so so guilty.

She had a boyfriend.

She had _Jason._

And it suddenly didn't matter how horrible it was with Jason because he was still the one she loved.

And she was basically using Neville because he made her feel good.

She was disgusted herself at the person she had become—at the monster who toyed with men's feelings.

She was just like Drew.

No, she was worse than Drew.

Her sisters in the Aphrodite Cabin would be proud, a fact she so did not want to be true.

Piper knew that she had to cancel that date with Neville, but she couldn't bring herself to. The worst part was that she had so much time and opportunities to, it was completely unjustifiable that she didn't.

She really tried, she did. But ever time she attempted to, she just couldn't shake the image of Neville's eyes lighting up with so much glee.

He was just so happy, she just couldn't destroy that happiness.

And everytime since then, Piper avoided hanging out with Neville—a fact that terrified him.

But he couldn't help but feel grateful, considering he also couldn't stand being near Piper, he was too shy.

Neville couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. He avoided Leo, having assumed that Leo liked Piper, Neville thought that telling Leo would be awkward and rude.

Meanwhile Piper could already see how Leo would react. His playful mannerisms would disappear around her, replaced with an air of hostility that would constantly remind her betrayal.

Because Jason was _his_ best friend. And no matter what, _cheating is wrong_.

Piper sat alone on a bench right outside Nico's door. For some reason, she felt compelled to sit there, specifically on that side of the bench.

Nico Di Angelo exited his room, hoping to have a chat with Nearly Headless Nick when he saw Piper outside his door.

Nico preferred to avoid conflicts and drama, but he had the unfortunate luck of witnessing more than he desired. Since he blended with the shadows so easily, he was often unseen during private conversations he had no choice but to listen to.

He had seen the whole exchange between Piper and Neville but kept his mouth shut. But he could see how visibly miserable Piper was ever since.

And despite not knowing the girl well, it was difficult to watch.

He definitely did not approve of what she did, and he couldn't understand why she did it—but what was done is done.

She was looking into space, seeming unapproachable, but Nico still sat right beside her.

He couldn't decide on how to start. Because Piper was a human, and he didn't exactly excel in human interaction. One wrong move could send her running.

Especially considering the fact that Piper was very emotionally and mentally fragile right now, he couldn't risk screwing this up.

"So," Nico began cautiously. "You and Longbottom, huh?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he knew they weren't the right ones.

Piper's eyes widened and her eyes teared up ever so slightly and she gripped the armrest of the bench, making her knuckles go white.

"How do you know about that?" Piper gave him a sharp look.

"Well..." Nico started, unsure if he should admit.

"Well?"

"Iwasthere."

"What?"

"I was there."

"Oh. Don't you hate me?" Piper asked him, expecting a harsh answer, and knowing his closeness with Jason.

After all, this was Nico Di Angelo. He didn't like to sugarcoat.

"At first, yes." Nico smiled weakly, a sight that slightly terrified Piper. "But I've seen how you've been miserable these past three days—that's got to count for something, right?"

Piper shifted in her seat.

"Besides, I know how horrible you feel with Jason—he isn't exactly present most times." Nico said, relaying the things he had observed.

Nico's words of kindness made Piper burst into silent tears, because they were so spot on, so accurate. She didn't expect the son of Hades, the one she knew least to understand her the most.

"But it's still wrong. No matter how you phrase it, Jason _is_ your boyfriend. And I think that love won't be able to sustain your relationship. Even if you loved him with all the love in the world, if Jason didn't show his, it _doesn't_ matter."

"So, Piper McLean, you better fix your relationship with Jason Grace with _communication_. Because you both love each other."

Nico had kept his eyes from looking at Piper, he found it much easier to be honest without eye contact. It kept him from seeing how his words affected other people. "But I don't know, I'm just a son of Hades talking to a daughter of Aphrodite."

Nico shrugged it off, and walked away, not meeting Piper's eyes even once. He had to meet Nearly Headless Nick in ten minutes.

Piper looked in awe at Nico as he left. She gained a new level of respect for him, and decided that she would tell Neville, _today_.

No more stalling.

Neville...is just a friend.


	20. 18: Before A Dance

**_I've said it before, but I'll say it again just to be clear._**

 ** _I won't be completely following the book or movie, I might make up some stuff._**

 ** _Like I did in this chapter._**

 ** _This chapter is really a turning point. It's where the story starts to really stray from the book._**

 ** _By the end, you might have some questions, so I'll add another AN to address whatever questions you guys could possibly have._**

Hermione Granger had taken it upon herself to avoid Ron Weasley untill the Yule ball, taking offense to his idea of her. It made absolutely _no sense_ to her why he simply _couldn't_ grasp the idea of her even possibly having a date.

In the last few days, Ron had pestered her non-stop about her 'date' absolutely convinced that she _didn't_ have one.

 _Well it doesn't matter_ , Hermione thought to herself as she slipped on the periwinkle dress robes over her shoulders.

But it _did_ matter.

And she knew it did because Ron was her _best friend_.

And no matter what, whatever Ron thought would be important to her.

Hermione straightened her dress, fixing any folds or wrinkles in sight.

Tonight was her night, and she was determined to enjoy a splendid night with Viktor Krum.

 _Screw Ron_ , she repeated to herself as she pushed the a bobby pin into place, styling an elegant updo.

Once she finished, she looked into the mirror, satisfied with herself. For once in her life, she found no flaw on her physical appearance.

She felt _pretty_.

Her hair, for once, was silky smooth, and the make-up she wore accentuated her features, making them stand out.

She glanced at the wall-mounted clock a few feet away from her.

Just thirty minutes before she had to go.

Her heart leapt.

.oOo.

"Let me get this straight—" Piper said, rubbing her temples in frustration. " _You haven't asked Annabeth?"_

Percy, Piper and Nico stood by Piper's door, talking about the Yule Ball.

Nico had grabbed Percy and marched over to Piper's room in the time of the crisis.

Percy apparently had not asked his girlfriend to the Yule ball yet, which was in less than two hours.

Percy threw his arms up defensively. "I didn't know I had to! We're dating! I just-I just _assumed_ that we would go together."

"Yes, but still, you _should_ have asked her. Especially with you being a champion and all— _you do know you have a Grand Entance together right_?" Piper replied.

"We have a _what_?" Percy asked incredulously.

"You weren't told?" Piper questioned, to which Percy shook his head.

"That's...that's not the biggest problem right now," Piper said, waving it off. "Point is, you have to ask Ananbeth within the next few minutes. The ball starts in two hours—and as Champion, you need to be there _early_."

"But how do I do it? Pipes, you know I've never done this before. Does it have to be grand? Simple? What do I say? How do I say it?" Percy rambled panic.

At that exact moment, Annabeth entered the scene with a towel wrapped around her hair. "Get ready, Seaweed Brain. We need to be there in an hour."

"Huh?" Percy asked, shooting Piper a look of surprise.

"Champions and their dates need to be early," Annabeth stated impatiently. "And my dress is royal blue—make sure your tie matches."

"Borrow hairdryer," Annabeth said as she saw the hairdryer on Piper's nightstand.

"You are _so_ lucky," Piper told Percy as she gave Annabeth the hairdryer.

Percy smiled fondly as he left. "I know."

The moment both Percy and Annabeth were out of the earshot, Nico turned over to Piper.

"May I go in?" Nico asked.

"Sure," Piper said, letting him in.

The moment they were alone, Nico glared at Piper.

The tension in the air suddenly increased by so much.

"Word is _still_ on the street that you got asked out," Nico said, saying his words as slowly as he could to afftect Piper.

"By _Longbottom_."

Piper froze.

"You _still_ haven't turned him down?" Nico asked Piper.

Piper steered her eyes away from Nico.

She didn't want to face him right now.

She _couldn't_ face him right now.

Nico, sensing Piper's refusal to acknowledge him, bubbled with anger. His eyes narrowed to Piper's terrified frame.

" _Fine then_." Nico growled, choosing his words carefully to guilt Piper. " _Go on_. Make out with Longbottom if you please. It's not like you have a _boyfriend._

 _"It's not like Jason Grace is waiting for you at home."_

Nico stood up, and shot one last piercing glare towards Piper, hoping for any shred of emotion, or even a sign of movement to show.

When he didn't, he slammed the door as he left, leaving Piper alone with his words resounding her thoughts.

Her guilt grew exponentially.

But it wasn't _her_ fault she didn't tell Neville, she was just so caught up in things. She just had too much to do in the last few hours. And he hadn't talked to her at all—how could she have told him?

Piper made up a million reasons to convince herself that she wasn't wrong, to reduce te guilt she felt.

 _Oh who was she kidding?_

She had every chance to shoot him down and cancel it.

She knew his schedule.

She knew where to find him.

She knew but _purposely avoided_ him.

 _She didn't shoot him down._

And even as a daughter of Aphrodite, she _couldn't_ understand why.

At first, she was absolutely sure that she was using Neville to fulfill her need for attention.

But now, everything just seemed so blurry.

She didn't know how she felt.

Piper, overwhelmed with guilt, almost broke into tears once again, but stopped herself.

She had just finished her eye-make up and she wasn't going to redo it.

 _I can't turn Neville down_ , Piper thought, knowing full well that it was the truth.

But she couldn't fathom why that was, and it bothered her so much—almost too much.

Piper thought and thought about it nonstop for the next hour till Neville picked her up, a few minutes late.

Three knocks on the door signaling Neville's arrival both scared and excited Piper more than anything in the quest had.

In Piper's opinion, Neville had cleaned up well. He looked great in his dress robes and leather shoes. Even his hair, a usual mess, had been fixed.

Neville also reflected the same thoughts about Piper's ensemble. Piper's gown was unlike any wizarding clothing he had ever seen. Neville found himself very much liking how Piper looked. Her make-up had been made to look stunningly beautiful and fit perfectly with her ever-changing kaleidoscope eyes.

"You...you look lovely," Neville told Piper, only stuttering once.

Piper would have appreciated this moment, perhaps even reciprocated his compliment, had Leo Valdez not walked into the scene.

This opened a large set of problems for Piper McLean, for obvious reasons.

"Longbottom! What are you doing here?" Leo asked with a smile.

"Piper's my date!" Neville declared enthusiastically.

Leo's smile faltered for a moment as he turned to look at Piper with a raised eyebrow. " _Really_?"

"Like couple date or _friend_ date?" Leo exaggerated the word friend as his eyes wandered to see Piper and Neville's intertwined hands.

Piper pulled her hand from Neville's grasp, an action made easy by Neville's hand sweat.

Neville did not fail to notice.

"Friend!" Piper shouted hurriedly, earning a weird look from both Leo and a hurt look from Neville.

"We're going as friends." Piper said with finality.

And as Neville stared at Piper's face, the word friend replayed repeatedly in his mind like a broken record.

Nevllie forced an enthusiastic smile on his face as his heart sank.

.oOo.

"Where is she?" Harry thought as he paced nervously at the entrance of the Great Hall.

The champions were supposed to meet a few minutes ago, and Harry was slightly late.

He didn't want to imagine the anger on McGonagall's face once they went to her.

"Sorry, Harry!" Harry's date said as she scrambled down the stairs, almost tripping twice. "I'm not used to wearing these wretched heels."

Harry immediately went up the stairs to help her come down.

"Thanks Harry," the girl smiled as Harry grabbed her arm.

Professor McGongall beckoned the champion and his date towards her.

"Potter. Ginerva. There you are! You're late!" She said stiffly.

Harry and Ginny apologized profusely to McGonagall.

"Go, behind Mr. Jackson and Ms. Chase," McGonagall ushered.

Even McGonagall had dressed up for the occasion—she even let her hair down from its usually tight bun.

Harry's eyes swept against all the other champions.

Cedric Diggory was dressed in elegant robes, and he looked much like a prince especially with his attractive face. On his arm, Cho Chang sported a beautiful Chinese-style dress in white that fitted her very well.

Harry couldn't help but feel unhappy at how easily Cho talked to Cedric. Whenever Harry talked to Cho, he was a mess of nerves.

Behind them was Viktor Krum, in his regal dress robes that looked more like a military uniform than formal wizard attire.

Upon looking at Krum's date, Harry cursed.

"Is that Krum and... _Hermione_?"

"Yeah," Ginny said with a laugh at Harry's surprise. "Hermione didn't want people to know until the Ball itself.

"She looks flawless though, doesn't she?"

Hermione looked stunning, unlike her usual self, she had an air of confidence.

"Yeah," Harry said. "She does."

Harry looked at Ginny, noticing that she looked breathtaking too. "So do you."

Her long red hair was pinned up into a mess of complicated braids, but left a few strands to frame her face. Her face had a bit of makeup, but it all looked natural enough for her to seem like she was bare-faced. Her gown was modest, it looked slightly old but still looked good on her.

"Champions!" A voice announced. Every champion and their date turned to face the voice.

"Once you hear your names called, exit with your partner waving at the people. Stand in beside the last called champion and his date, and wait till the music starts."

Annabeth straightened Percy's bowtie, and no one could deny that they looked absolutely picture-perfect together.

Seeing Annabeth in a dress was a rarity, and even more so with make-up. Percy drank up the beauty of his girlfriend like a starved wolf. Her gown curved at the right places, and her hair curled elegantly to frame her face the best it could.

Annabeth reflected the same thoughts on Percy's attire. Percy, for once, put much effort into his appearance. Since he was a champion who had a Grand Entrance, he felt that it was needed. There was not a single wrinkle in his tux. It fit him perfectly, almost as if it were tailor-made just for him.

The man even styled his usually untamable hair, a feat only made possible with large amounts of wax.

Percy looked clean, and much less of a delinquent. The obly trace of his mischievousness was hidden in his smile.

A voice from inside the Great Hall began to speak, marking the beginning of the Yule Ball.

"Let us welcome our champions as they start off the Ball with a dance!"

A round of applause resonated throughout the Great Hall, wherein hundred of teenagers stood excitedly awaiting the start of the ball.

"First off," the same announcer said. "Let us welcome Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase from Amerneo!"

 ** _Okay, first of all, Ginny IS going with Harry._**

 ** _In the books, Harry asked Ginny to go, but Ginny was already going with Neville, so Harry went with Patil instead. However, since Piper went with Neville, Ginny was left dateless, and therefore agreed to go with Potter._**

 ** _And two, if you didn't understand Piper's dilemma up there, I don't blame you. I'm horrible at writing things like those so it basically means that Piper is questioning how she felt about Neville._**

 ** _Of couse, we would always have the next chapters, where the rest of the ball takes place._**


	21. 19: Unforgettable Start of Disaster

**_You guys are in for a real treat. This chapter was really fun to write. I hope and wish you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it._**

 ** _But before that, I'd like to thank AquaEclipse for pointing out all the spelling mistakes in my story. (oops!)_**

 ** _I have since fixed most, by the way._**

 ** _Anyway, I will stall no longer._**

 ** _Here it_** ** _goes:_**

A single red rose laid limply on Neville's outstretched palm as he offered it to Piper McLean. It was a magical rose, enchanted not to wilt for extended amounts of time.

"I read up on it and planted some in my Nan's garden," Neville explained nervously.

Piper eyed it, unsure what to do. She loved the gift, it was extremely thoughtful and romantic.

The rose was red. Red roses were used to signify love and passion. That fact alone made Piper hesitant to take it.

It certainly did not help matters that Leo loomed over them like an adult chaperone. His presence made neither of the three feel at ease with the arrangement.

Piper returned her gaze to the rose.

Taking the rose would mean a million things, but rejecting it could mean a billion others.

The logical part of her didn't want Neville to think she was available especially with Leo around to witness it.

The selfish side of her told her that it was her rose, and it would be impolite to refuse such a gift.

A battle of wills within her fought, logic and heart with contrasting feelings.

In one swift motion, Piper delivered the verdict of the internal fight.

She took the rose from Neville's palm and took a whiff of its distinct scent.

The action sent a surprised smile to Neville's face and a expression of disbelief to Leo's.

"Can I borrow Piper for a moment, Longbottom?" Leo said, his tone commanding and cold. Despite the wording, Leo wasn't asking, he was demanding.

His tone sent a terrified shiver down Piper's spine. Leo was never cold, and if he was acting so, then she was very much screwed.

"Uh...of course," Neville said reluctantly as he shot Piper a look. He held great discomfort in allowing Piper to go with Leo.

He suspected that Leo fancied Piper, and vice versa.

The idea wasn't far-fetched. Why else would Piper suddenly blurt out that she and Neville were simply going as friends in such a panic the moment Leo asked?

Piper smiled reassuringly Neville.

Her heart raced a million miles a second and she didn't know whether it was due to Neville's romantic action of giving her a rose or Leo's sudden request to drag her away, no doubt for questioning. She didn't know if it was butterflies or fear.

It was perhaps a mix of both.

"What are you doing?" Leo asked Piper once they were out of the earshot.

"You have a _boyfriend!_ "

Piper sighed. "I know that! That's why we're going as—"

"Friends?" Leo said, raising a brow.

Piper's heart sank at his accusing tone.

"You two seem anything _but_ friends." Leo said icily. "For gods' sake Piper, he got you a magical rose—one that he planted and grew himself! Maybe you think it's okay because you're going as ' _friends'_ , but Piper, you and I both know that Neville Longbottom _really_ , and I mean _really_ likes you. And I know damn well that Jason Grace wouldn't appreciate his girlfriend accepting magical roses from another guy.

"It's not right, Piper."

Leo's words hung in the air as he stated the obvious, the cold hard fact that Piper didn't want to accept.

This was wrong and she knew it. Perhaps it may not count as cheating on Jason, but she was leading Neville on even when it could never happen because they were in fact from different timelines.

Piper sighed. "I don't know what's wrong with me, okay? I've tried to reject him, Leo, I have."

Her words increased the already growing tension, making it spiral out of control. Only the presence or lack of feelings could result into that answer.

"So try again," Leo said firmly. "You know that Neville fancies you a lot. Neither of us want Neville's heart broken, but it _is_ always so much better to be rejected early than to be led on with false hope."

Leo paused, and looked straight into Piper's eyes, as if looking into her very soul.

" _You of all people should know about false hope._ "

Piper and Leo locked eyes in agreement at what had to be done.

"Fine." Piper said, turning on her heel. "I'll tell him about Jason."

Leo nodded in approval. He didn't want Longbottom's heart broken, but it had to be done.

With her head held high, Piper walked over to Neville. She knew she had to tell him to stop the romantic actions because of Jason.

It was for Jason.

Upon nearing Neville, Piper was suddenly stopped by a big man. His magical eye darted around its socket quickly as his scarred face loomed over Piper.

"You look sick, McLean," Mad-Eye Moody said to Piper, offering her a small glass.

Moody gave her the glass.

"Drink up," Moody told her.

"Thanks, sir," Piper said to Moody as she took the glass. She knew his face as one of the very few to know the truth about her true identity.

She downed the entire glass in one gulp and put it aside.

It gave her a warm feeling, and she looked up to see that Neville had approached her himself.

"Oh, Neville!" Piper said dreamily.

.oOo.

Ron had to admit that this was probably the worst night of his life. He showed up to the Yule Ball in embarrassing frilly robes dateless and alone.

And if that wasn't bad enough, he just passed Neville.

Even poor, clumsy Neville who barely had friends had a date—and his date was _Piper McLean._ McLean grabbed Neville arm and smiled dreamily at Neville.

Ron could diss McLean all he wanted, but she was undeniably gorgeous.

"Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase!" A loud voice introduced as the couple walked out looking perfect in their matching robes. They radiated confidence and power, like a proud queen and king.

Ron huffed angrily as he tugged on his frilly dress robes. Hermione was still nowhere to be found.

Malfoy passed by Ron, and did not miss a beat to insult him.

"That must be the grandest rags, ehem, _robes_ your poor family could afford—tell me Weasley, how do you feel about starving your parents for your dress rags?" Malfoy sneered.

Ron looked away, trying to avoid trouble especially with McGonagall so near.

"They must've had the mice sew the lace," Malfoy said loudly to Pansy Parkinson. "After all, the only place they'd get help is from equals."

Ron grit his teeth as Pansy cackled in delight.

With enough self-control, Ron was lucky enough to escape the encounter without starting a brawl.

He scoffed as he escaped the place, muttering profanities at Malfoy.

"Viktor Krum and _Hermione Granger_!" The voice announced.

Ttime slowed down painfully for Ron as realization sunk in of how much of an idiot he was. The world stopped, and a brief moment, Ron wanted to get off in embarrassment.

Hermione had a date.

 _Hermione had a date._

 _Hermione f*cking Granger, his best friend, had a date._

And worse—the fact that Hermione hadn't bothered to tell him that her date was _Viktor Krum himself_ infuriated him beyond belief.

And the more Ron looked at her and Krum, the more miserable he was.

 _How dare_ Hermione Granger look absolutely stunning in her Periwinkle gown and magical makeup?

 _How dare_ she smile more confidently on Krum's arm than she ever had anywhere else?

 _How dare_ she laugh so brightly, like Krum was the funniest person in the world?

 _How dare_ she not let it be him?

In a snap, Ron was aware of every little thing about her.

Every smile, every blink, every move of her arms, even the slightest raise of her brow from so so far away was suddenly blaringly, painfully obvious.

Her beauty and her grace were her prominent features tonight. Combined, they shined brighter than ever, and are subtle rays of sunshine slapping Ron on the face.

Her wit and intellect were absent from his side, and it bothered him because it made her who she was and made her stand out above all others.

Her absence punched Ron on the face and drenched him with the ice-cold bucket of realization that he was wrong.

 _Oh he was so, so wrong_.

Because he was so ignorant that he never stopped to ever _consider_ that the prettiest girl in all of Hogwarts was right beside him all along.

But now it was too late—Viktor Krum had her on his arm and she was smiling laughing more than she ever did with Ron.

Despite the fact that there was no competition to begin with, she had _won_.

Her dreamy smile in contrast to his jealous glare was enough proof.

"Fleur Delacour and Roger Davies!" The voice announced, snapping Ron back into reality.

He cringed as he was suddenly reminded of how he screamed onto Fleur's face at his poor attempt to ask her to be his date.

It seemed like every part of the event was specifically planned to knock down Ron Weasley's self-confidence and drastically increase his misery.

"Harry Potter and Ginerva Weasley!"

Now this was another blow for Ron. He wasn't exactly thrilled that his best mate was going with his sister, but he knew that what Ginny would do was not his decision.

Ginny was her own woman, and he had grown to respect that.

Still, it wasn't something he liked to witness, especially with Ginny's undeniable obsession with Harry.

Harry and Ginny entered the stage and stood right beside Krum and Hermione, forcing Ron to glance at Hermione once again.

"Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang!" The voice announced.

Harry couldn't help but to glance over at Cho Chang.

She was undoubtedly pretty, but she also had the wit that enabled her to be sorted into Ravenclaw and the talent for Quidditch.

Harry would be lying if he said he didn't fancy her.

But he had to admit, _Ginny_ looked better than Cho tonight.

His eyes searched for Ron's frilly robes, which truthfully wasn't hard to spot. Harry saw Ron sitting alone and miserable. He was staring at Hermione, Harry realized.

The music suddenly began to play.

In panic, Harry grabbed Ginny's waist and hand, and started to dance in the choreographed motions they were taught.

Harry felt like an animal at the zoo, everyone watching him in interest, hoping for a glimpse of him screwing up.

But Ginny kept him grounded. She counted to the beat kept him in time. Her subtle pushes gave him an idea of the next step

Despite the harrowing crowd watching their every move, they did the routine flawlessly

And for a brief moment, their eyes met.

Harry wordlessly thanked Ginny for helping him while Ginny relished the expression of gratitude.

Harry saw her and appreciated her for what she had done, and it suddenly didn't matter to Ginny that Harry did not reciprocate her feelings.

His respect was already more than she had hoped for.

.oOo.

Nico Di Angelo stood in the shadows, watching all the people dance. His eyes swept over to Neville Longbottom and Piper McLean.

The sight infuriated him, he had tried to prevent it, but it seemed to only get worse.

Piper was currently slow-dancing with Neville, and they looked like a couple—too much like a couple.

Nico wanted to shadow travel between them and break them off and was considering doing so till Piper did something that surprised him.

Piper placed her hands on Neville's shoulder and kissed him.

 ** _Whew._**

 ** _So the Yule Ball may stretch out to several chapters, I'm not really sure._**

 ** _But I have realized that there has been an excess of FAVORITES, FOLLOWS, and a lotta REVIEWS._**

 ** _And I've got to say, thank you to all of you._**

 ** _All of you who love and enjoy the Quadwizard Tournament have my eternal gratitude for even picking it up over thousands of fanfics._**

 ** _HAPPY NEW YEAR!_**

 ** _So comment:_**

 ** _What's your favorite chapter so far, and why?_**

 ** _Also, New Year's Resolutions?_**


	22. 20: The Ride Downhill

Percy was enjoying himself, he really was. He hadn't danced with Annabeth since they were thirteen, and he felt that this dance was definitely long overdue.

He twirled Annabeth, who was very impressed by how much he improved since they last danced.

Her dress ballooned up like a ball gown, and her loose curls floated in the wind.

Their movements were synchronized and passionate, each was an extension of the other.

The students gaped at them, impressed by their special bond. The special bond was evident on Percy's and Annabeth's faces.

Strong emotions controlled their movements in smooth motions. Choreography was at the back of their minds as they were too consumed in each other.

The formal start-of-party dance ended and most champions left the floor. Pecy and Annabeth stayed, too engrossed with each other to even notice.

They talked and laughed, reminiscing simpler times and speaking of the future. Conversation flowed smoothly like a river.

"I was so jealous of Luke back then." Percy admitted, laughing.

"You didn't have to be. I liked you even when we were twelve, Percy." Annabeth said with a sideways glance.

Percy looked at her in surprise at the revelation.

Annabeth's calculating eyes landed on Piper as Percy's reply turned to deaf ears.

Piper had her hands over Neville's neck as a dreamy yet satisfied smile adorned her face. The position made Piper and Neville seem like a couple—a label they should not have.

Because Piper had Jason.

But all was forgotten, it seemed, as Piper leaned in to lock lips with Neville Longbottom.

The action sent fury and shock to engulf Annabeth, and she squeezed Percy's shoulder a bit too hard.

"Ow!" Percy yelped in pain. He was about to complain when he saw Annabeth's intense gaze.

Her eyebrows were scrunched up as she pursed her lips, holding a string of creative curses from escaping. Fury was evident on her face.

"What the _f*ck?"_

Annabeth rarely ever swore. She usually avoided foul language, seeing no reason to use such.

"Annabeth?" Percy asked in worry at the fact that she swore.

His eyes followed Annabeth's gaze to see a horrifying sight.

Piper was furiously making out with Neville Longbottom.

Once they broke apart, Neville's face flushed for the lack of oxygen. He had been never kissed before. Having Piper McLean give him a passionate kiss was definitely one of the only two positive highlights in his life so far.

Percy's hands on Annabeth's waist fell limp in shock. Annabeth recovered by storming over to Neville and Piper.

She was fuming.

No one, not even Percy, had ever seen her this mad.

Annabeth's blonde hair flipped in the wind as Annabeth walked as fast as she could to Piper.

She tapped Piper on the shoulder to break her out of her second make out session of the night.

Piper looked up at Annabeth in disinterest and slight irritation.

"What?" Piper asked rudely.

Her expression and response further angered Annabeth.

" _What the hell are you doing_?" Annabeth asked in disgust.

Piper's expression changed as she giggled like a lovesick schoolgirl. "Tonight? Neville."

Neville's face turned red in embarrassment and something else.

By then, Leo, Nico and Percy were on their way as a crowd started to gather.

 _Smack_.

A loud sound echoed across the Great Hall, carching the attention of about a thousand students.

Percy pushed through the crowd, hoping to stop the scene before anything else happened.

Piper touched her red cheek as she glared at Annabeth.

Annabeth glared back with equal intensity.

"What about Jason?" Annabeth said, not caring who heard.

Gasps were heard across the hall. Everyone was frozen in place, as if held back by the thickness of the tension.

"What _about_ Jason?" Piper retaliated.

Grey eyes fileld with fury stared down at kaleidoscope irises with disgust, betrayal, and an emotion similar to hate.

"Who is Jason?" Neville asked weakly.

"No one significant," Piper said.

Her words increased the growing fire in Annabeth's eyes.

By now, the entire Great Hall had turned silent. All eyes were on the two.

No one spoke or even whispered in fear that they could miss any portion of the impending catfight about to take place.

Annabeth's fingers trembled, itching to deliver another bitch slap.

And she was almost did, if not for Percy's arm on her shoulder.

Ananbeth turned to face Percy, and his entire expression begged her to stop.

She complied and regained her cool.

The fight, however, was far from over.

Piper rolled her eyes and grabbed Neville's arm, inviting him to leave early with her.

"Let's go somewhere more private," Piper tiptoed as she whispered into his ear. "It'll be _so_ fun."

Overwhelmed with the temptation, Neville complied, following the girl.

Annabeth, unfortunately for Neville, had no plan to let Piper off the hook.

Annabeth grabbed Piper's arm with an iron grip, eradicating any possibilities for escape.

" _And where do you think you're going?_ "

Piper tried to shake her arm free.

"To my bedroom, with Neville." Piper bit her lip and looked up to meet Neville's eyes.

She held no shame in her words and actions, as if what she did was completely acceptable.

"Oh?" Annabeth's steely gray eyes hardened further as she asked a question she knew the answer to. "And what do you plan to do?"

"Certain... _activities_. _None of which_ , are of _your concern._ " Piper said coldly and she peeled Annabeth's fingers from her arm.

"I would very much appreciate it if you left us _alone_." Piper's hand entangled itself with Neville's arm.

Annabth did not miss the action.

"And I would appreciate it if you used your _seemingly non-existent brain_."

Piper ignored the comment and everyone else in the Great Hall.

She didn't have time for this!

There was only one thing in her mind.

Neville. Bedroom. _Now_.

She spun on her heel and walked away into a night she would remember and regret for the rest of her life.

.oOo.

Ron Weasley was out in the hall when he saw Hermione Granger and Viktor Krum exit the Great Hall laughing.

Hermione's laughter mocked him.

Ron, still alone, had missed almost the entire Ball hiding in shame.

Viktor kissed Hermione goodnight and walked away, passing Ron with a smile on his face.

Ron wanted to wipe out that smile with a strong punch.

Hermione sighed dreamily as she approached Ron.

"Oh, Ron. Tonight was absolutely perfect!" She swooned.

Even with the drama between the Americans, Hermione had a great time. Krum was the perfect gentleman and a great conversationalist.

Ron did not share her opinion. He thought quite the opposite.

"I can't believe you went with _him_." Ron's tone was judgy and unapologetic, as if Hermione had comitted murder.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Hermione said hotly.

"You're mingling with the enemy! And to think that should be on Harry's side—"

"What is wrong with you? The Quadwizard Tournament was organized with a goal to create friendships between three schools!"

"Yeah, you and Krum are _real friendly_ alright. A bit too much, don't you think?"

"You _absolute arse_! You have no right, Ron Weasley. Next time, ask me before anyone does— _and not as a last resort!"_

" _Who would want to go with you_?"

Hermione took in Ron's words and left, her eyes brimming with frustrated tears. Her perfect night was ruined.

The one time she felt the height of her confidence, it was brought down, shattered and stomped on by her own beat friend.

Harry and Ginny appeared, both in a happy mood as well.

"Well you two seem happy," Ron noted, his voice somber. "Harry, would you mind taking your arm off _my sister_?"

Harry lifted his arm from Ginny's shoulder, making the spot feel cold and exposed.

"How was the Ball?" Harry grinned at Ron, who scowled and walked away.

.oOo.

The very next morning, Piper woke up in her bed.

Her room was the same, everything else was in order.

Then last night flooded back into her brain—some of the events that transpired.

She vaguely remembered intensely making out with Longbottom, a thought she didn't expect.

She pulled the covers off herself, feeling exposed all of a sudden.

But she was not alone.

And her dress was littered on the floor.

 ** _Hello! Did you enjoy this chapter?_**

 ** _Hm, I wonder._**

 ** _What happened with Neville and Piper?_**


	23. 21: Aftermath

**_Replies:_**

 ** _Guest05: PLEASE...MAKE EVERYONE REALIZES PIPER WAS UNDER A SPELL/POTION! I don't think Jason would ever behave the way you wrote him to behave. He has literally been called a "blonde Superman". O just don't think that is true to Jason's character. Other than that, great job. Love the story. I really want the demigod identities to be revealed to Harry, Hemione and Ron. I just can't wait! (Fangirling over fanfiction!) But please, make it so everyone knows the way Piper acted with Neville was not her fault._**

 ** _Oh, don't worry, they'll know..._ eventually**

 ** _Yes, I agree Jason is acting unusual. Maybe he's seeing someone else, maybe he's going through puberty—something is DEFINITELY off._**

 ** _Identities will definitely be revealed, as mentioned by Dumbledore a few chapters back. But when, is the bigger question._**

 ** _I'm really glad you enjoy the story! And to the point where you're fangirling about it in the comments—it really means the world to me._**

 ** _HAHAHAHA. Enjoy!_**

 ** _A Reader:_** ** _Are you sure that last bit was necessary?_**

 ** _Besides from that I really love your story_**

 ** _Oh yes, it was ABSOLUTELY necessary._**

 ** _: Anyone who know what can tell what happen with Neville and piper. Just one thing does that mean piper will break up with Jason. In your story is it out of guilt? Why can't jason return. They broke up in the real story. In this story, they definitely don't need to. I don't like who you treat piper character. Especially her a daughter of love falling. For a love potion trick_**

 ** _Piper and Jason WILL NOT break up because of that._**

 ** _And Piper is a interesting character if you ask me. I just think that her mother of all people wouldn't want her love life to be boring, don't you think?_**

 ** _And as a daughter of Aphrodite, Piper drinking the love potion is like anyone drinking alcohol._**

 ** _Piper is love-drunk. She's sober enough to know what she's doing, but she's mainly controlled by false feelings and a crapload of lust. She doesn't remember much about the night before, but the potion only lasts for one night._**

 ** _So by the morning, she isn't into Neville anymore._**

 ** _ANYWAY._**

 ** _This chapter might not be fit for some people. If you prefer to not read it, I'll give a brief summary in an A/N below on what exactly happened._**

( _The night before)_

"Kiss me, Neville," Piper's charmspeak washed over Neville Longbottom like a tidal wave.

Her words were powerful. They controlled his senses, blurring the clear line between right and wrong.

He wanted to, so much.

He pressed her against the cold stones of her bedroom wall and kissed her with intense passion. He was merciless in claiming her mouth as his.

It felt foreign. Unusual. Almost _wrong_.

Neville gasped for air as they pulled away.

He couldn't do it.

He _shouldn't_ do it.

But he desired it.

A shout behind the locked door snapped him back to his senses.

"Piper!" It yelled. As hands rapped against the door.

Then he remembered.

He remembered all their faces as the screaming match in the Yule Ball was going on. All four Americans looked scandalized.

They looked angry and _betrayed_.

Neville didn't listen to the words said, too scared to intervene or to cut through the tension. But he vaguely remembered Annabeth mentioning a Jason.

Piper pushed Neville to her bed, clearing his thoughts.

She had undressed, and her dress laid abandoned on the floor.

She kissed him, and her heavenly lips moved down to his neck. He couldn't take it.

He flipped them over so that he was on top. He repeated Piper's actions to her, and he found himself liking her reaction.

Her moans were loud as he went lower and lower his body. He was not sure how he knew what to do.

As he reached her large chest, Piper grabbed his hair, encouraging him as her cries got louder.

He looked up to see her eyes. They were dark and hazy.

Her hand slithered to his belt, removing it. The motion was tantalizingly slow, and Neville found himself unable to meet her eyes.

Instead, his eyes darted around her room. He took in her room—every part of it she had personalized.

His eyes landed at a picture of Piper with a boy.

They looked happy. Her arm was slung over his shoulder, and he had gold glasses that made him look like smart.

Piper never looked so happy.

"Neville?" Piper asked, her eyes cloudy.

He had stopped her fingers from doing anything.

This was wrong.

Piper had someone else.

"I'm sorry, Piper." Neville said suddenly. "I-I can't do this."

Piper studied his expression. "It's fine. We don't have to."

They sat in awkward silence, prompting Neville to leave. He turned to the door, already regretting his decision.

"Wait, Neville!" Piper said desperately. "We don't have to do anything. We can lie here in silence."

"Please _stay_."

And her charmspeak took over his senses, making him follow her command.

Unsteadily, he walked over to Piper.

He took his place beside her in the bed.

As soon as he lied down, exhaustion took over him.

.oOo. 

Piper stared at her exposed chest, terrified at herself.

She didn't know how far last night went.

But she had a pretty good idea.

The sleeping form beside her moved. It didn't take a detective to know that it was Neville.

Nausea engulfed her.

She couldn't imagine talking to him after last night.

Space was what she needed. She slipped in a shirt and some sweatpants and left her room.

She needed a breath of fresh air.

As she left her room, she had the horrible opportunity of meeting Leo.

Leo saw her, but he averted his gaze.

It felt horrible.

She would rather get stoned by a ton of bricks than this.

She would rather have him glare at her, or shout at her than this.

There was nothing worse than being ignored.

"Leo?" Piper choked out.

Leo took no effort to look at her. He simply left the hallway and went into his room, making sure to slam the door.

Suddenly fresh air didn't sound very nice.

At this moment, Piper would rather suffocate.

And she knew that she would deserve it.

.oOo.

Neville woke up alone, which was a relief. He didn't know if he could face Piper after what had transpired last night.

He left her room, dreading to return to the Gryffindor tower.

Luckily, he didn't meet any demigods, or anyone he knew on his way out of the Americans' Hallway.

Unfortunately, he bumped into Dean Thomas returning from the Hospital Wing.

"Neville!" Dean said, putting an arm around Neville. "I saw you last night—you left with McLean, didn't you?"

Neville did not appreciate the reminder.

"Yeah, I did." Neville said. "But nothing happened—I swear!"

Dean winked. "Sure. You just left early with her and spent the whole night in her room doing nothing."

"I swear, nothing happened."

Dean pointed at Neville's disheveled clothes and at the mark on his neck. "Better cover the evidence before you deny an accusation."

Neville sighed, knowing that there was no way around it.

"Let me go, Dean."

.oOo.

"They did it, I'm sure." Leo spoke solemnly. "I heard them last night."

The other demigods looked down in disappointment.

 _Piper, what's wrong?_

They all knew that this was unlike the daughter of Aphrodite. Piper prostested such acts during her age.

She believed in waiting before marriage.

"Well, her relationships with Jason _has been_ sour lately—" Leo began, trying to find any excuse to defend her.

He felt the full force of Piper's betrayal, but he still felt the urge to rationalize her actions, to make sense of her choices. It made what she did seem less horrible.

But of course, what he thought did not always extend to the others.

They all couldn't believe what had happened.

And they all couldn't see her in the same way.

But what she did didn't change the fact that they were stuck in the quest together.

"We can't ignore her," Nico said, about to suggest something brutal.

"He's right," Annabeth agreed. "She is still part of the quest. We don't have to forgive her, but we can't just abandon her."

The others nodded in approval.

"But how did this happen? Did anyone else know?" Percy asked.

It was hard to believe that they all had no idea throughout the entire ordeal.

"I knew," Nico said sourly. "I saw him ask her out, she said yes. Then I talked to her about it, reminding her about Jason. She was do ready to cancel, but she never did."

Leo's eyes widened.

"She was about to cancel too. But then she went to him and started to make out with him—it made _no sense._ "

Annabeth's calculating eyes washed over them both.

"Really? Can you retell all that you know?"

 ** _Ok real quick:_**

 ** _Basically, Piper and Neville were making out when Neville sees Piper and Jason in a pic looking reaaal happy and decides he doesnt wanna do it. Piper accept his decision, but accidentally charmspeaks him to stay._**

 ** _Okay._**

 ** _150 FAVORITES_**

 ** _250 FOLLOWS_**

 ** _136 REVIEWS_**

 ** _HOLY CRAP GUYS._**

 ** _THE NUMBERS WENT REAAL HIGH THANK YOU SO MUCH I LOVE YOU._**

 ** _Tune in for the next chap!_**


	24. 22: Regrets

**Replies:**

 ** _Purpleartist13Ok im glad they didnt do it but can you please make jason appear like he was sent by chiron for backup or something and piper and jason reunite and get together and she tells him and he understands and everthings alright between them. Cause i love their ship. Please_**

 **Nope. Not happening in this book.**

 **: This is one of the Best Fanfictions I have ever read. This makes me feel like I am reading a real Uncle Rick book. Reading this is my favorite part of the day. I hope you will continue and I think we all know "Mad-Eye Moody" had SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE LAST TWO CHAPTERS**

 **I don't think you know just how much this means to me. I just love Unvle Rick's writing, and for the main reason that this is fanfiction, I try to imitate his writing as much as possible. Knowing that I am doing well in that really lifts my mood. Thank you. So much.**

 ** _Meep: Random question: do you get writers block? If so, how do you make it go away!_**

 **Not really, but I can suggest ways to avoid it. Try to reread the chapters you have already written, no matter how cringy you find them (I know I find mine cringy). Maybe there's a small detail that could be foreshadowing anything that you can write in the present or in the future. Or search writing prompts. But I think the best advice is not to force it. The best chapters always come when you've got the determination and mood for writing.**

 **Guest: YOU EVIL MONSTER HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO PIPER**

 **Well I dare do worse. Stay tuned!**

Piper dried herself with a towel as she finished her sixth shower that day. No matter how much or how long she scrubbed and rinsed, she couldn't shake the feeling of dirt and uneasiness on her skin.

The air itself was painful on her raw skin, but she found no urge to stop. In fact, the pain soothed her, allowing some sort of masochistic release.

The daughter of Aphrodite ran from her friends, but she couldn't run from her thoughts. The inexplicable guilt gnawed at her, causing her to be unfocused, careless, and forgetful.

Piper had avoided all the other demigods, successfully surviving an entire week without encountering any. It was a lonely week, but she preferred loneliness to seeing the betrayal on her friends' faces.

She only ate once a day, visiting the kitchens exactly at three everyday. That was her current path—the kitchens.

Her daily visit was unpleasant, she dreaded this more than any part of her day.

The house-elves stared at her with fear, their beady eyes terrified of anything she might do. Many flinched at the slightest move of her hand.

She felt worse than ever, but she would still prefer this over seeing her the other demigods.

She ate quickly and sparingly, just enough to sate the hunger she felt.

Her misery increased by tenfold as she heard genuine laughter, a sound she hadn't heard in days.

The Weasley Twins, known for their pranks, were laughing at their latest idea for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

The twins looked over to Piper, who sat alone on the few dining chairs in the kitchen. They looked at each other then at the girl in surprise.

"Is that her?" George asked Fred.

"Think so," Fred replied.

The two approached Piper, who stayed rooted to the spot.

"Are you really Piper McLean?" A boy asked Piper.

"Who's asking?" Piper said, her voice croaky. She hadn't used it in so long, she didn't need to.

"Well...everyone."

"What?"

"You're quite famous you know."

Piper faltered, knowing the most probable answer before asking. "Why?"

"Skeeter." One Twin replied, as if the name explained everything.

"Oh gods," Piper muttered. Things were worse than she thought if there was a news article.

"Do you have the paper?"

"No, but I bet some house-elf does." Fred said.

"Oi, can we get the paper from Tuesday here?" George yelled to the elves.

Immediately, a house-elf carried newspaper to Piper. She was on the front page.

Her fingers trembled at what her eyes saw.

"THE AMERICAN SCANDAL" 

by Rita Skeeter

She couldn't tell if she was thankful or not for bringing her reading contacts.

A large moving picture on the front page showed Annabeth as she delivered a strong, well positioned bitchslap.

 _SINCE THEIR ARRIVAL, THE AMERICANS HAVE SHOWN NOTHING BUT DISGRACE AND QUESTIONABLE ACTIONS. THESE HAVE ALL BEEN DISREGARDED AND OVERLOOKED BY THE MINISTRY, AND THAT ACTION HAS FINALLY SHOWN ITS CONSEQUENCES.THE YULE BALL WAS AN EVENT SUPPOSEDLY FILLED WITH JOY AND KINSHIP. ALL SCHOOLS WERE SUPPOSED TO ENJOY THEMSELVES THIS ONE NIGHT, BUT AS EXPECTED, ALL WAS RUINED BY THE AMERICANS._

 _THE DANCE OF THE CHAMPIONS WAS INTERRUPTED BY NONE OTHER THAN ANABET CHAISE. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DANCE, SHE STORMED OVER AND SLAPPED HER OWN SCHOOLMATE ACROSS THE FACE._

 _THE REASON BEHIND THE ACTION IS UNKNOWN, BUT WE MAY BE CERTAIN THAT THE AMERICANS DO NOT TRUST THEMSELVES._

 _SOON AFTER, THE SLAPPED GIRL, PIPIER MACLEAN FLEES THE SCENE, KIDNAPPING A YOUNG HOGWARTS STUDENT AS SHE WENT._

 _THE STUDENT REFUSED AN INTERVIEW WITH THE WRITER OF THIS ARTICLE, FEELING TOO HAUNTED BY THE THINGS THE GIRL HAD DONE TO HIM.—"_

The rest of the article was simply more propaganda and lies Piper didn't need to indulge in.

The Weasley Twins had eaten in silence as Piper read the paper.

"This is a lie." Piper said, more to herself than to the twins.

But how could she be sure?

She said it herself, she had no recollection of that night. She didn't know if Neville even wanted to do...what they _did._

She wanted to scream. To cry. To die.

Nothing was fair. She didn't know there was alcohol in the party! She didn't mean to drink so much punch.

She didn't mean to do anything. She didn't mean to hurt anyone. She swore that she was good, at least she was at some point.

"Obviously," Fred scoffed in between bites. "Skeeter writes anything _but_ the truth."

Their father was also a victim of Skeeter's slander, so they also harbored dislike for the woman.

She looked at them appreciatively.

"You got somewhere to be?" Fred asked Piper.

Piper shook her head no.

"Great. Come with us," George extended a hand.

Piper took it, and they pulled her away, joking as they went.

And for the first time that week, she smiled.

.oOo.

Annabeth hadn't seen Piper for a week, and it was frankly worrying. She couldn't help but to stare at the entrance of the Great Hall, hoping for even a glimpse of Piper.

What Piper did was horrible, but it didn't erase their friendship.

Of course, Annabeth felt annoyed at the whispers she knew was about her. The strange looks and constant stares indicated such.

But Annabeth was no stranger to stares and whispers, so she knew to ignore them.

Annabeth put her head on Percy's shoulder, an act she started to do a lot recently. It felt comforting to know that Percy was there when the world is all going to shit.

"Hey Annabeth," Percy nudged her, to which she groaned.

"Annabeth." Percy said once again, lightly shaking her.

She finally looked up to a sight to behold.

Piper McLean was there. She was eating with the infamous Weasley Twins.

Her red skin, the increasing amount of bags under Piper's eyes were worrying Annabeth.

Piper was not okay.

And even if she laughed and laughed with the Weasley Twins, Annabeth couldn't help but think that Piper wasn't okay.

"She looks horrible," Percy says, catching everyone's attention.

"She hasn't been sleeping well." Annabeth noted.

"She has been taking an unhealthy anout of baths."

"She's gotten thinner."

These were just a few observations the demigods had. They were faced with a truth—they missed Piper McLean.

But things could never be the same, because the bitter sting of betrayal lingered.

"Something isn't right," Leo said.

The three others couldn't agree more.

Because Piper wasn't where she belonged.

 **HELLO SORRY FOR THE SUPERLATE UPDATE!**

 **I got super busy with school and tests and projects and hobbies and just a lot of random crap.**

 **And I hope you enjoy this chapter, because it might be the only thing you get for a while.**

 **Ill try to write sooner, I promise!**

 **Also,**

 **that is a _LOT_ of Favorites, Follows, and Reviews. Thank you so much for even considering about reading my messy story. (Does it still make sense to you?)**

 **Anyway.**

 **Thank you, guys.**


	25. 23: What happened

**_NotSoCliche - I hope the others realise soon that Piper didnt do anything wrong and was under the influence of a potion. Good chapter._**

 _Yeah, it's real soon._

 ** _HeroesofHogwarts - BTW, not every demigod there is 17. Nico is 14 and I think Piper is 16, though I'm not sure._**

 _Yes, I know. It's what makes the Piper Neville situation so awkward._

 **A lot of you wanted the demigods to realize that Piper drank something. So here it is!**

"I just realized that Piper seemed pretty drunk that night," Percy stated as they walked through a hallway.

Nico, Leo, and Annabeth looked at him, stopping.

"That's...that's true." Annabeth realized, furrowing her brows.

Now that she thought of it, Piper did seem very intoxicated. It was seen in her speech, movement, and actions.

"Did anyone see any alcohol, maybe even magic alcohol?" Annabeth looked at the others, who shook their head in response.

Nico didn't see any alcohol, but he had recently been cautioned about a thing called date rape drugs.

It made him wonder if the wizarding world also had it.

Suddenly, it was like a lightbulb clicked on Nico's brain.

It was a disgusting thought. A vile action that warranted punishment to the highest possible level because it was all levels of wrong and violating, but it was the only logical thing he could think of.

Nico shuddered at the thought, but voiced it.

"You guys don't think Neville slipped something in her drink, did you?"

All eyes turned to Nico in horrified surprise. Nico himself could barely believe in his words.

Leo on the other hand, was in shock. He knew Neville, and the Neville he knew wouldn't even hurt a fly.

A long silence was broken. "Yeah," Annabeth said, disgust heard in her voice. "That seems plausible."

It all added up to the daughter of Athena. After all, no one else got drunk, and Piper was definitely drunk that night.

That night was a blur of panic and angry shouting.

Annabeth looked at Leo to see his reaction. Annabeth knew that Leo was friends with Neville.

She watched as his fingers built a small figure. The moved quickly but sloppily, a sure sign that Leo was distracted. It didn't matter that nothing was formed. What mattered was that it helped him think, to concentrate on his convoluted thoughts.

Leo knew Neville. He repeated that fact over and over his head, trying to convince himself that Neville couldn't have done it.

But then again, how many times has he been betrayed?

Sailing across the world through many obstacles had taught him that almost nothing is ever as it seems.

Leo felt conflicted and confused.

He didn't know what to believe or who to trust.

It was like everything stood against him, and he felt nothing but confusion and reluctance.

Nico felt a large pang of uneasiness. In fact, he felt many things—anger, sadness, and regret.

Shadows danced in the room, if you could call it that. The vibe was terrifying, as if the dead itself was about to walk.

In this case, it wasn't impossible, especially with Nico's current mood.

Percy, on the other hand, was silent.

Because _how dare Neville do such a thing_?

How _dare he_ take advantage of Piper McLean?

How _dare he_ make her ruin her own life?

How _dare he rape_ her?

It was the type of angry silence that drove everyone away in fear. The silence bubbled up inside was too much to keep in.

Percy's eyebrow twitched violently, just as the water from a nearby glass jumped out the window and the toilets exploded.

Rage was blinding, and Percy's extreme loyalty made him completely blind to the anything else.

This was unfortunate, because everyone else was so angry that they felt no desire to restrain Percy.

Of course, Annabeth was the first to sort out her feelings. Growing up a daughter of Athena set some expectations for you, and forcing logic over feelings was one of them.

Annabeth cleared her throat in an attempt to clear everyone's heads.

This did not work for a large reason—Neville himself appeared walking by the hall.

The boy saw the Americans and sighed in relief.

He approached them, with disheveled hair and messy robes due to their most recent flying lesson.

Obviously, now was not the best time.

But Neville made everything much worse by saying a few words, an action he would deeply regret later on.

" _Hey, have you seen Piper_?" Neville said. "I think I left my—"

Neville was pinned to the wall.

Percy had Neville in a strong grip that physically hurt Neville.

"Don't go near her!" Percy yelled.

Neville looked at him with wide eyes. "Is she alright? Is it something I did?"

This, as expected, was also the wrong choice of words.

"Is it— _is it? What is wrong with yo_ u? We haven't see Piper since the Yule Ball, and we know that you were last seen with her, _Longbottom_."

Longbottom was said with as much venom as possible.

"Percy, that's enough!" Annabeth said.

Without realizing it, Percy had snaked a hand on his neck. A few students walked past as quickly as possible—first years.

Percy looked at the terrified faces of the children and Neville's face as it gasped for breath. Disgusted at himself, Percy dropped his hand.

Neville coughed as Percy released him, putting an arm on the wall to keep balance.

"Let's go," Annabeth commanded as she sent a final glare to Neville.

.oOo.

Harry couldn't believe his ears. "They did _what?"_

"I'm just telling you what I heard, Harry."

Hermione ran her fingers through her bushy hair. "I don't know if that's even the full story—all I know was that Percy Jackson and the other Americans were holding Neville Longbottom in a chokehold in the middle of a deserted hallway when five first years happened to come across them."

"You think this could have to do with the Yule Ball?" Harry asked.

"Definitely. I mean they _did_ have that fight between Piper and Annabeth."

"D'you think that they're threatening Neville to get him to leave McLean alone?" Ron asked.

Just then, Neville entered the room, looking worried.

"Should we ask him?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. If the Americans _are_ threatening Neville, then its worth Dumbledore's knowledge." Harry said.

"Oi Neville," Ron called, to which Neville approached the group. "What'd those Americans do?"

"Nothing," Neville said, his hand instinctively going to his neck as he turned to immediately leave the conversation.

"That's odd," Harry noted.

"He's obviously hiding something."

"We better tell Dumbledore," Hermione said, getting up.

"Before anything else happens."

 ** _Here is another chapter, to compensate my long absence._**

 ** _What do you guys think will happen next?_**


	26. 24: What You See and Think

Harry, Ron, and Hermione hurried down the halls and corridors with a mission to go to Dumbledore's office.

The Americans were dangerous, and no one knew what they truly were here to do. They had already harmed Neville, and there was no telling who was next, but Dumbledore would know what to do.

The legendary Professor always seemed to have all the answers.

"Professor!" Harry yelled as he saw Dumbledore right before he turned around the corner.

The Headmaster didn't hear, he was too invested in the intense ongoing conversation with the Americans. The wizards just couldn't see the demigods.

The old man was _not_ happy. In fact, he looked quite distressed. This fact did not take Harry away from his mission—to tell Dumbledore about what had happened to Neville because he believed it to be of upmost importance.

Harry, Ron and Hermione chased after the professor as he turned around the corner. As they approached, they heard voices, prompting them to slow down, hide, and peek over the corner they were hiding in.

All four Americans looked as distressed as Dumbledore, if not more.

"I'm telling you, Piper wouldn't do it in the right state of mind! Something must've been in whatever she had—"

"And _I'm_ telling you, that Neville Longbottom _would not_ do _that_." Dumbledore's voice was calm, as it always was. "I'd see why you think that, but I'm almost completely sure that Neville wouldn't do such a thing."

All they asked was an investigation, even just to see if Neville really _did_ do it.

The four Americans glared at the Professor, barely restraining themselves from pouncing at his devil-may-care attitude.

Annabeth opened her mouth to protest, or to possibly just trash talk the Headmaster but she stopped herself. Someone else decided to step up—someone unrxpected.

Nico unsheathed his sword, revealing Stygian Iron. The metal was as dark as Nico's heart at the moment as he glared down the man who refused to help Piper receive justice.

"Listen here, old man." Nico spoke, his voice terrifying yet calm. "A girl has been _raped and if_ you do nothing about that, then you're an accomplice to a crime. And unless you _do_ something, the ghosts of Hogwarts _will_ turn against you— _all of them_. And, oh yes, _don't_ expect mercy from the council of the dead when _you die."_

Each word Nico said, he took a small step towards the Professor, pressing his sword to the man's neck.

By the end of his little speech, Nico had Dumbledore backed up against the wall, sword on throat.

All the spectators were speechless, all in fear and in shock.

Potter! Weasley! Granger! What on earth are you up to?" Professor McGonagall's voice was firm but not loud enough for Dumbledore or the Americans to hear.

The three jumped in surprise, not expecting to meet or hear Professor McGonagall.

"We uh.." Harry started. His mind was still numb from what he had witnessed.

"Professor, the boy is threatening Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione pointed at the corner.

When McGonagall looked, she saw no such thing. Instead, she saw that Dumbledore and the Anericans were talking normally.

"You three need to go bed." Professor McGonagall said disapprovingly. "I'll escort you back to your rooms."

Meanwhile, Dumbledore stared at Nico, observing the sincerity in his eyes and words.

"Put that down," Dumbledore said, referring to Nico's sword.

Nico put it down, his breathing was heavy and his heart was palpitating. He hadn't been so mad in a long time.

Dumbledore looked at the child. Nico had just threathed him—and he was _serious_.

"No need to be rash, Nico. All I'm saying is that perhaps it wasn't Neville." Dumbledore said calmly.

This made Annabeth perk up. "Then—"

"All of you, back to your rooms...except Nico." Dumbledore didn't want to entertain any of Annabeth's probing questions.

Three left on the direction of the hospital wing while Nico Di Angelo, to his confusion, stayed.

Nico waited till the three were out of the earshot before speaking.

"What do you want, Albus?" Nico was still kind of mad at the old man.

"Nico," Dumbledore said. "I would greatly appreciate it if you stopped threatening the ghosts, and _me_."

Nico looked in the old man's eyes. It showed no fear.

Even then, with a sword to his throat, Albus Dumbledore showed no fear.

It frustrated Nico. It was almost like Albus didn't care.

"And _I_ would appreciate it if _you_ investigate who _potioned_ my friend."

Dumbledore sighed. "Shadow travel us to Hogsemade Station."

Nico looked at the man. "What, you gonna kill me?"

They both knew that Dumbledore couldn't kill Nico if he tried.

"You know I can't do that." Dumbledore smiled weakly, grabbing Nico's arm. "Hogsemade Station _please_."

Nico grunted, obliging to the old man's request. Darkness engulfed them as the disappeared from Hogwarts.

.oOo.

"Goodnight, Professor," the three chorused.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the common room, the painting of the Fat Lady swinging shut behind them.

"You don't think he'll do it, will you?" Hermione asked the other two.

She was referring to Nico's threat. It sounded like dark magic.

"Yes, I do. And I am bloody sure that Nico's a Death Eater." Ron said.

"But why is Dumbledore just taking it?" Harry wondered.

Dumbledore was the most powerful wizard they had ever known. Why didn't he defend himself?

If even they had a hold on Dumbledore, then it was pointless to tell Dumbledore anything.

They quickly brought out the Marauder's Map, hoping to get an update of the Americans.

Harry flipped to Dumbledore's office's floor.

"Look!" Hermione pointed. "Annabeth, Leo, and Percy are leaving."

"And look—Nico is alone with Dumbledore!"

Sure enough, the name Nico Di Angelo was written next to Albus Dumbledore.

Suddenly, the two names disappeared, faded drom the map.

"Bloody hell!" Ron shouted. "They're gone!"

Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak.

"Is this even possible?" Hermione asked in panic.

Harry shoved his wand into his pocket. "Let's find out."

If Dumbledore was gone, then they truly were screwed.

 **Hello! Here's another update.**

 **I'm really glad that a lot of you are enjoying my works, and I do appreciate the enthusiastic reviews!**

 **Thank you. You all push me to write another chapter despite the fact that it's hard to.**

 **This is dedicated to all those who are having a hard time in life at the moment.**

 **So if you're suffering, this is for you.**

 **Enjoy!**


	27. 25: The Secrets Kept

The moon glinted brightly over Hogwarts, and three wizards stared intensely at the very spot Nico Di Angelo and Albus Dumbledore was last sighted.

They had left without a trace, as if vanishing from thin air.

"They've been gone for awhile," Ron observed worriedly.

Hermione glanced at her wristwatch. "An hour, in fact."

They stared at the stone some more, still seeing no trace of Albus Dumbldore or Nico Di Angelo, none in the slightest.

The three imagined the horrible things that could have already happened in an hour. They knew nothing about Nico Di Angelo, except for the fact that he seemed to radiate death and darkness. He was terrifying to all, even the dead.

"Well, we have to tell someone!" Harry said, genuinely worried.

Uneven footsteps faded from soft to loud, the sounds alternating from a metalic sound to a rocky sound.

Mad-Eye Moody's magical eye swept over the wizards, recognizing all three as he limped closer and closer.

"Tell someone what?"

All eyes turned to him, the big man overlooking three children.

"Professor!" Hermione piped up.

"Why are you all out at night?" Mad-eye asked, his eyebrows scrunching up together. "I ought to give you _all_ detention!"

"Sir," Harry's voice cracked in desperation as he spoke. "Professor Dumbledore is in trouble!"

Moody's magical eye circled in on him. "What makes you think that, Mr. Potter?"

Harry put his hands into his pockets, trying to find the Marauder's Map. After searching his pockets for a while, he realized that he had lost it.

"I...lost it."

Harry turned to Ron and Hermione, who seemed horrified at the thought.

"Are you sure?" Ron asked as Harry frantically felt around his robes.

" _Yes, I'm bloody sure,"_ Harry snapped, turning to Professor Mad-Eye Moody. "Well I don't have proof as of this moment, sir, but I assure you that Dumbledore _is_ in danger."

Mad-Eye stared at the three, concluding that they couldn't have possibly been lying.

"I'll look into it," Mad-Eye promised. "Now, go to sleep before I decide to give you detention."

.oOo. 

The three walked back to Gryffindor Tower, still worried for Dumbledore.

"What'd you think Dumbledore and Di Angelo are?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Hermione said. "But we definitely need to talk to Dumbldore tomorrow."

"Harry, you coming to bed?" Ron asked Harry, who was looking through the cushions and tables of the common room for the Marauder's Map.

"I lost the map," Harry said, pained.

The map was important for him, it helped him a lot, and he had grown quite fond of it.

Ron patted Harry on the back. "It's late. Deal with it tomorrow, mate."

Harry stared at Ron.

"Fine," Harry said.

.oOo.

An old man and a teenage boy stepped out of the shadows, exhausted to the bone.

"So do you understand why the others can't know?" Dumbldore asked, catching his breath and putting a hand on the deep wound on his arm.

"It's a lot to take in," Nico panted as he leaned on his stygian iron sword. "But yeah, makes sense."

"Good," Dumbldore said, still clutching his arm. "So we have an agreement then—no one finds out till the third task."

"Yeah, but why me?"

"Why you?" Dumbldore laughed. "Because you would understand it the most, being ambassador of Hades and all."

"Won't Annabeth be a better choice for knowing this?"

"No. _It_ _has to be you_. Now please, the sun is rising and I believe you must return to your room."

Nico sheathed his Stygian Iron Sword as he passed a ziplock of ambrosia squares to Dumbledore.

"Ambrosia?" Nico asked, taking one for himself.

Dumbldore politely declined. "I prefer to not undergo spontaneous combustion."

"Suit yourself," Nico shrugged as he began to walk back to his room.

His tired foot ached, and he didn't want to walk all the way back to the Hospital Wing, but he had a feeling that he had shadowed travelled to the most of his ability as of the moment.

He stepped upon an old piece of paper, with multiple folds and writings. Nico picked it up, cursing wizards for littering.

He was about to drop it in the trash when a name caught his eye—his name.

He further inspected the map, realizing the various names written on it, many familiar, some unheard of.

He held a map of Hogwarts, one that seemed like a cheat code to everything in the castle.

It had it all, from the first floor to the seventh, with names of all those within it, and secret passages that led to different places.

Nico grinned, pocketing the map.

 ** _Hello guys!!_**

 ** _Thank you, and I mean THANK YOU, for all the support._**

 ** _Seriously, I never expected this much from my work._**

 ** _And I am not revealing what Nico and Dumbldore are up to...yet._**

 ** _Any ideas? I'd like to hear some theories._**

 ** _Also, if you guys have requests, just write it down, dont be shy!_**

 ** _Please check out my other story, TRUTH UNVEILED._**

 ** _-FieryBallofCrap_**


	28. SORRY

_**Guest**_

 _ **Seriously these conclusions you just force people to jump to, maybe harry is the one trying to kill me, what created that idea that fact that he has a sword and isn't a conventional wizard which was stated in the statements Rita skeeter made on the school saying how they train in weapons. Wow surprise the person who isn't a congenital wizard doesn't use the congenital weapon.**_

Yes, but if I do recall correctly, Harry was really confused at the time. It would make sense to be extremely paranoid, especially about a wizard from a unknown school that seemed to appear out of nowhere and used a _sword_ of all things instead of a wand. Wands are much more flexible and to cast spells from afar. It would be extremely unusual to use a _sword_ on instinct. It's sketchy at best, and based on what I know about him, Harry would suspect something's up.

 _ **c12 Guest**_

 _ **Seriously you making that damn dragon to much for Christ's sake he's fought a hydra, ares, Kronos, several giants, several Cyclopes, gorgons and much more. The fact that you are making it out like he's actually doubting himself against a dragon sure it's a dragon but far from the worst things he's fought I mean he didn't showing much of any doubt or fear when battling ares or titans.**_

If you read all those moments in the original books, you'll see that Percy wasn't completely sure of his actions, or alone. More often than not, he had help. Perhaps it was Annabeth, invulnerability, water powers, or Clarisse La Rue, but he had help AND Riptide. He was going in without his beloved sword. He would be the main target of a large, dangerous dragon. It's like performing ballet routine when you're a hip hop dancer—it's out of your comfort zone and it feels terrifying.

Also, when he's fighting, he _is_ afraid. He just can't show it.

 **c22 _Guest_**

 _ **I think what your doing with Neville and piper is forced and stupid**_

Well, you're entitled to your own opinion. However, I hope you can afford the patience to read through the book so you can understand why it's important to the plot before jumping into conclusions.

 **c24 _Guest_**

 _ **The chapters are getting shorter and shorter**_

Yes, and I really do apologize. I've been going through some stuff but still wanted to update. I'm working on a much longer chapter and strengthening plot points as I go.

And please don't worry, I don't plan on giving up on this story. I'll see it through the end.

\--

 ** _HEY GUYS._**

 ** _I'm so, so sorry I haven't updated in a while. I really would want to, but I need to revist previous chapters and do some editing ao that the next ones will be better. For now, I'm putting the story on hiatus._**

 ** _BUT I PROMISE THIS IS NOT THE END._**

 ** _At most, It'll be till December when I update again._**

 ** _In the meantime, please check out my other Percy Jackson Fanfic—Truth Unveiled._**


	29. 26: In the Heat of A Moment

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had a very disappointing chat with Dumbledore the next morning after the professor mysteriously disappeared with Nico. Once again, their concern for the professor's safety was ignored. Dumbledore relentlessly defended the sketchy Americans, and Harry had never felt so frustrated.

Two months have since passed, and it was finally Febuary. The second task loomed over everyone, and excitement filled the air. This made rumors of Piper and Neville dwindle significantly, and the Americans now more or less blended in with the students.

It was exactly twelve hours before the task, and Percy Jackson was still trying to figure it out.

He knew that the answer was somewhere in the egg, but he had no idea how that possibly could be. Every time Percy opened the egg, the unholy screech pierced his ears.

The past week, all he was doing was trying to decode the egg. He tried everything. He slept with the egg. He sat on the egg. Heck, he even imitated the horrible screech back at the egg. Even Annabeth was stumped.

"Still nothing," Percy glared at the egg. "I have no idea what's next."

He placed the egg on the floor. "Screw this, I'm taking a shower."

.oOo.

"Got anything?" Ron asked, taking a bite of an apple. They were in the library, attempting to find any way to help Harry survive the tournament.

"No," Harry and Hermione said simultaneously.

Neville tapped Ron. "Professor Dumbledore's looking for you and Hermione in his office."

"For what?" Ron asked.

"Dunno," Neville said.

Ron looked at Harry, who suddenly looked very worried. "Go, it's alright."

Hermione pulled Ron towards the exit. "Let's go."

"I have a few hours left," Harry grumbled in frustration. "And I have no clue how I'd be able to stay underwater that long."

"You need to breathe underwater?" Neville asked Harry.

"For an entire hour, yes. But how can I? I'm not fish."

"I can help you if you'd like. I'm quite good at Herbology you know."

Harry twisted his head. He was pretty desperate. "What'd you have in mind?"

"Gillyweed. It'll make you part fish or something. I can get it to you before the task."

Harry smiled. "Thank you, Neville. You're a lifesaver."

"Sure, I'll just meet you behind the stands then."

.oOo.

Percy stared at the egg on his hands. He still had absolutely no idea what the next task was, and it was in a few minutes. He swang his legs over the lake, feeling really anxious.

He really wished Annabeth was here.

"Percy, I just talked to Dumbledore," Leo sat beside him. "Gods, we are so lucky. This is water-related task—"

Leo's voice zoned out as Percy watched Harry Potter walk to the back of the stands where people were cheering.

 _That does not look saf_ e, Percy thought, and followed.

"Percy!" Leo yelled as Percy sprinted. " _Hey_ —Where you going?"

Neville Longbottom stood at the back of the bleachers holding something that looked suspicious. It was green— _gods_ , was this a drug deal?

It made sense, Percy thought. Piper was drugged at the Yule Ball, and the same guy was Hogwarts' resident drug dealer.

So what was Potter taking, regular drugs or special wizard drugs?

"I managed to get it from Snape's storage." Neville said nervously.

Harry smiled gratefully as he grabbed the green stuff. "Thanks, Neville. I really owe you for this."

Harry inspected it for a bit and neared it to his mouth—he was going to eat it.

"NO! WHAT THE HADES?"

An entire handful of drugs before the competition was in no way a good idea.

Percy could not stop the scream that escaped his mouth. He ran to attack Neville, three-foot Celestial Bronze sword out, adrenaline pumping, and caution thrown into the wind.

Before anything could register, the sword was swung at Neville's throat and the part of the crowd had turned around in confusion. One glimpse through the bleachers' cracks and everyone knew what was going on.

Percy had a sword to Neville's throat, and Neville looked properly terrified.

"I _knew_ it! You gave Piper the drugs, didn't you?" Percy yelled. "What did you do to her?"

Percy pressed the sword into Neville's skin. "Do you like taking advantage of—"

" _Stupefy_!" Harry yelled, petrifying Percy midsentence. Percy crumpled to the floor, and Neville caught the sword.

Nico shadow-travelled beside them, weilding his sword.

"What did you do?" Nico yelled, swinging with his Stygian Iron Sword.

Neville parried a few weak blows as Harry tried to get a clear shot of petrifying him. The way Neville and Nico moved was too fast, Harry might end up petrifying the wrong person.

"Stupefy!"

A shot of red light shot Nico on the shoulder. The son of Hades crumpled as well.

Leo ran towards Harry apologizing. "I'm so sorry!"

Harry backed away from Leo and pointed the sword at him, scared of what he might do. "Don't come any closer!"

Leo raised his hands. "I don't want to harm you."

"Please, put down the sword." Leo was waiting for a clear shot so that he could burn the one who date-raped his best friend.

Harry saw Leo's empty hands. He remembered that Leo could shoot fire from his hands.

Neville looked at Harry for guidance.

"Don't do it, Neville." Harry said, inching further away from Neville to retrieve Nico's sword. Neville's grip on Percy's sword tightened.

"I don't want to harm you," Leo said, fire in his eyes and his expression fierce. He wanted nothing but to avenge Piper. His expression didn't match his words.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Neville asked.

Leo's eyes blazed. "You don't."

Leo began throwing fireball after fireball at Harry and Neville, who dodged the attacks.

Percy regained consciousness and wrestled with Neville for his sword.

It was chaos. Harry's jersey smoked from being hit by fire. Neville and Percy were wrestling on the ground, Percy on top. Eventually, Percy held his sword back to Neville's neck. Harry dodged fireball after fireball while Leo dodged spell after spell.

"STOP!"

A wave of charmspeak echoed throughout the entire place.

It washed over Percy, Leo, Harry, and Neville. Their barbaric display of violence stopped, and the noise of the crowd was silenced.

Piper stood at the top of the bleachers, desperation in her eyes.

Dumbledore finally appeared, accompanied by the other headmasters. He looked at the scene in front of him and shook his head.

Through his wand that amplified his voice, he spoke.

"THE TASK SHALL BE POSTPONED TILL NEXT WEEK. EVERYONE, BACK TO YOUR ROOMS."

He glared at the five boys lying on the floor, still under Piper's spell.

"You five, in my office." Dumbledore looked up at Piper. "You too."

For the first time in his life, Harry could feel that Dumbledore was truly, very angry.

 _ **PRESENT DAY, 2018. - MINISTRY OF MAGIC, DEPARTMENT OF LAW AND MAGICAL ENFORCEMENT**_

"This is serious, Harry." Hermione paced. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes, I'm bloody sure!" Harry said in frustration. "I swear, I saw one of them. He wore a shirt just like they did—"

Hermione "No way. Maybe it's a coincidence!"

"—it's definitely not, I _assure_ you—"

"—but what if you're wrong—"

"It's them." Ron spoke, breaking his own unusual silence. His eyes were glassy, hiding much resentment.

Harry and Hermione shut up.

"They wore bright orange T-shirts and held the weirdest weapons." Ron said. "I swear, it was one of them. I'm sure, I saw that weird kid. I forgot his name.."

"Nico?" Hermione supplied.

"Yes! He didn't age one bit _._ " Ron said _._

Hermione looked at both Harry and Ron's faces, seeing no hint of dishonesty or doubt.

Hermione grimly composed herself. "Then we have no choice. Pack your bags, we're going to America."

 ** _HEY GUYS! DID YOU MISS ME?_**

 ** _I'M SO SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING LAST DECEMBER. THINGS WERE MORE HECTIC THAN I EXPECTED HAHAHA._**

 ** _Because of COVID-19 and home quarantine, I am much more free and therefore have the time to update. I hope you all are safe and okay!!! Remember to wash hands and keep clean!!_**

 ** _ANYWAY, I WOULD LIKE TO ASSURE EVERYONE THAT NONE OF MY STORIES ARE DISCONTINUED._**

 ** _I really love writing, and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter._**

 ** _EDIT: I have fixed the spelling mistakes. (Please tell me if there are more, spelling is my weak point.) Also, they are in the past, so present day really means future._**


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